Cardiac rehabilitation or rehab is a program to help you recover and improve your heart health after a cardiovascular event or surgery. It includes exercise, education and support from our staff to encourage a healthy lifestyle and lower your chance of future heart issues.
Our program aims to strengthen your heart and boost your quality of life by providing support in heart-healthy eating, fitness training, medication monitoring and other valuable services.
We approach our fitness programs by tailoring supervised exercise sessions to your personal needs and abilities. These exercises may include walking, cycling or using various cardiovascular machines under the guidance of our trained professionals.
The American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) certifies our program, ensuring you receive excellent care for your recovery process.
Watch our overview video to learn more about the Bellin Health cardiac rehab program.
Rehab is Essential to Your Heart Health
Cardiac rehab is a crucial part of caring for specific heart problems. If you have one of the following diagnoses or procedures, you may be eligible to participate:
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Heart stents
- Heart transplantation
- Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD)
- Open heart surgery
- Opening narrowed or blocked blood vessels
- Valve repair or replacement surgery
Benefits of Cardiac Rehabilitation
Cardiac rehab after heart procedures such as angioplasty, stents and clot-busting drugs reduces the risk of death by 45 percent. There is also a 35 percent reduction in all-cause mortality rates and decreases in mortality up to 5 years post-participation, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Cardiac rehabilitation also provides the following benefits:
- A better understanding of your condition and treatment.
- Enhanced ability to perform activities of daily living.
- Improved health-related quality of life.
- Increase your stamina and strength.
- Live longer and decrease your chances of another heart incident.
- Manage symptoms of your heart disease, like chest discomfort or difficulty breathing.
- Reduced physical and emotional effects of heart disease.
- Reduced hospital visits and use of medical resources.
- Stop or reverse harm to your heart's blood vessels.
Inpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation
Our inpatient cardiac rehab team encompasses cardiovascular disease prevention, treatment and recovery. We provide individualized education about its risk factors for patients and their family members.
We include education and support to encourage healthy lifestyle interactions and changes such as:
- Chance to interact and exchange experiences with fellow patients.
- Enhanced dialogue with your physician and other medical professionals regarding your recovery.
- Evaluation of mental stress and provision of therapeutic advice.
- Maintaining a healthy weight, heart-healthy eating and smoking cessation.
- Monitoring and better control of your blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and heart failure.
- Starting and maintaining a personalized exercise plan.
Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation
You will begin our outpatient cardiac rehab program after the hospital discharges you, typically within one to two weeks. Once your doctor sends a referral, our team will assist you in getting started.
Learning to exercise safely, manage your heart condition and live healthier may take a while. Our team of experts will work closely with you to create a personalized exercise plan that suits your specific needs and goals. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced athlete, we will ensure your exercises are safe and effective.
During the exercise sessions, our staff will closely monitor your heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels to ensure you exercise at the right intensity. This will help us track your progress and make necessary adjustments to your exercise plan.
We schedule patients into fitness classes two or three days per week. On average, most programs last up to 18 weeks. We do our best to work with you to find program times that fit your busy schedule.
During outpatient cardiac rehabilitation, you will:
- Exercise in a safe, monitored environment with trained staff. We emphasize personalized aerobic activity, muscle strengthening and flexibility.
- Have access to on-site medical care.
- Have an opportunity for our rehab staff to check concerns and quickly contact your healthcare team.
- Have weekly education classes for you and your family taught by our staff.
- Have your progress tracked and reported to your primary physician or cardiologist.
- Monitor your heart rhythm, heart rate, blood sugar (if needed) and blood pressure.
- Receive home exercise guidelines.
- Set personal goals and develop a treatment plan with strategies to help you make lifestyle changes.
Our gym is on the second floor of Bellin Hospital, next to the Cardiology Associates office.
