Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 06:10 PM

Cardio Rehab helps you take charge of your heart health

National Cardiac Rehabilitation Week brings a good reminder with live-saving tips and advice.

National Cardiac Rehabilitation Week February 11-17 recognizes the role of cardiac rehabilitation in reducing the potentially devastating effects of heart disease. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed as having a heart or lung condition, or you have experienced a heart attack or surgery, talk to your doctor about Cardiac Rehabilitation services at both locations of Marshall Medical’s TherapyPlus. 

Roughly 43 million Americans have one or more forms of heart or blood vessel disease. Our skilled therapists will teach you to manage your risk factors, show you how to take control of your life through exercise, and help return you to a full, active and healthy lifestyle.

Here are the ABCs of Cardiac Rehab provided by the American Heart Association:

Cardiac Rehab – 3 Important Steps

Cardiac rehab can’t change your past, but it can help improve your heart’s future. It’s a medically supervised program designed to help improve your cardiovascular health if you have experienced heart attack, heart failure, angioplasty or heart surgery. Think of cardiac rehab as three equally important parts:

• Exercise counseling and training: Exercise gets your heart pumping and your entire cardiovascular system working. You’ll learn how to get your body moving in ways that promote heart health.  
• Education for heart-healthy living: Managing your risk factors, choosing good nutrition, quitting smoking…education about heart-healthy living is a key element of cardiac rehab.  
• Counseling to reduce stress: Stress hurts your heart. This part of rehab helps you identify and tackle everyday sources of stress.

Cardiac Rehab is a Team Effort

Don’t face heart disease alone. Cardiac rehab is a medically-supervised program in which you partner with your doctors, nurses, pharmacists – plus family and friends – to take charge of the choices, lifestyle and habits that affect your heart.

Following a diagnosis of heart attack or heart failure, or after a procedure such as angioplasty or heart surgery, participating in cardiac rehab is one of the best things you can do for your heart-health. Recovery is a journey as much as a destination. You might often feel like you’re a passenger in a car being driven by your heart, like you have no control. But cardiac rehab helps you grab the steering wheel so you can regain control of your health.

Here are a few ways you will benefit from participating in cardiac rehab:

• Lower your risk of a future cardiac event
• Eat better
• Lose weight
• Return to work
• Better engage in daily activities

You may benefit from a cardiac rehab program if you have or have had a:

• Heart attack
• Heart condition, such as coronary artery disease (CAD), angina, heart failure, or Congestive Heart Failure
• Heart procedure or surgery, including coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), including coronary angioplasty (balloon angioplasty) and stenting, valve replacement, or a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)

Is Cardiac Rehab Covered by Insurance?

Medicare and most other insurers provide reimbursement for all the recommended conditions. Check with your medical team and insurer to determine if cardiac rehab is covered under your plan.