Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs Work!
“Only two percent of the participants in Milford Regional’s cardiac rehabilitation program were readmitted to the medical center within the first two years. Thirty percent of the patients who did not participate in the program were readmitted.”
Why do I need cardiac rehabilitation?
Being diagnosed with heart disease is a major life event for people. The first “warning” that you have heart disease may be a heart attack. The initial treatment of heart disease is only the beginning. By-pass surgery, angioplasty, stent placement and/or medications are only treatments for the disease. They are not cures because there is no cure. Therefore, physical and emotional adjustments must be made in order to return to a full and active life. Participation in a cardiac rehabilitation program will help you begin to make the lifestyle changes that can bring you back to the active life you may have had before your diagnosis.
What can Milford Regional’s cardiac rehabilitation program do for me?
The cardiac rehabilitation program at Milford Regional first began helping cardiac patients find their way to a healthier lifestyle twenty years ago. As a participant in our program, the compassionate and professional staff will guide you as you do aerobic and strength exercises, learn about your condition and how to manage it, receive dietary counseling, are taught how to control your weight, learn the importance of adhering to your medication and are given smoking cessation information. And to help you get back into a satisfying and active lifestyle, you will receive psychological counseling.
Does all of this help? You betcha!
Recent national research shows that people who participate in cardiac rehabilitation have a lower risk of death. At Milford Regional’s cardiac rehabilitation program, from 2003 to 2007, only two percent of our participants were readmitted with a cardiac diagnosis within the first two years. For the same time period, 30 percent of the people who did not participate in cardiac rehab were readmitted with a cardiac diagnosis! Other benefits of cardiac rehabilitation include a decreased risk of disability, improved strength and fitness, better stress management, weight loss and improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Cardiac rehabilitation works and is good for your health!
Where can I learn more?
Read more about Milford Regional’s cardiac rehabilitation program.
A wealth of information about heart disease can be found here.
This news brief provided by Kathleen Waldron, RN, BC, MSN, program director of the Cardiac Rehabilitation program at Milford Regional.