Cardiac Rehabilitation is a program designed to help maintain and restore individuals with heart disease to their optimal physiological, emotional, vocational and social levels. Participants include those who have experienced a coronary artery bypass graft, a heart attack, coronary angioplasty/stents, stable angina, heart valve repair or replacement, and heart or heart/lung transplant.
The Community Memorial Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation program has been around for many years and seeks to provide holistic support for cardiac patients. For many patients, the time from being diagnosed, to having a cardiac procedure done to the recovery period can be a very overwhelming experience. It is a lifelong process to recover from any heart condition and cardiac rehabilitation can be an important step in helping patients make that transition to recovery and positive lifestyle changes.
We offer Phase II Cardiac Rehab at CMH, which is an outpatient exercise program. Participants are continuously monitored with telemetry and the class meets 3 days a week. A referral and orders from a physician are required for participation in cardiac rehab. Participants are separately assessed and an individualized program is developed for them. Education is an integral part of the program and includes classes such as Heart Healthy diet, smoking cessation, heart disease, hypertension, stress management, medication review, and risk factors. We have a pharmacist and a dietician to assist in educational needs as needed.
Trained registered nurses, who are Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certified, work with the participants during their exercise sessions. In order to provide optimal care, the nurse acts as the patient advocate, coordinating care and goals with the patient, physicians, dieticians and pharmacist as needed.
Each participant has their own individualized exercise program developed specifically just for them to help meet their needs. We are fortunate to have a variety of exercise equipment that includes an Airdyne, recumbent/stationary bikes, an arm ergometer, treadmills, Nu-Steps, seated elliptical and handheld weights. The exercise sessions are held Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 am and last approximately 1-1/2 hours. Additional class times are added as census requires.