Mary Washington Healthcare's cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation program provides a safe way for individuals with heart conditions or those who have undergone heart surgery to exercise under the guidance of trained professionals.
If you've had a heart attack or been diagnosed with a heart condition, you may feel hesitant to start exercising or making recommended lifestyle changes. However, our cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation program allows you to safely improve your physical condition and build confidence through regular exercise under the supervision of our trained professionals.
The professionals in cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation include:
They help you establish heart-healthy habits like getting regular exercise, eating a low fat diet, reducing stress and not smoking.
Although emergencies in the rehab setting are rare, the Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehab team is trained to deal with them.
Benefits of cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehabilitation:
Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab Patient Education
Cardiac (Heart) Patients
Pulmonary (Lung) Patients
After discharge, you'll follow an individualized program designed by your rehab team and your doctor based on a complete, non-invasive and painless evaluation of your physical functioning. No matter what your fitness level or experience is, your rehab team shows you how to follow your program at a safe, comfortable pace during three, one-hour sessions each week.
This phase will help you:
During group exercise sessions supervised by your care team, you will wear a heart monitor, and your blood pressure will be consistently monitored to assure you are doing well. Should there be any sign of a problem, medical equipment and expertise are readily available.
Your program will typically last 6-18 weeks with a total of 36 sessions. You should also attend weekly educational sessions on topics regarding lifestyle changes to help you reduce cardiac risk factors. There are six classes:
To have lasting benefits from cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, you must make a lifelong commitment to exercise. The American Heart Association recommends that you join an exercise group, local gym, mall walkers program or start a walking group in your neighborhood. This program enables you to continue achieving your personal goals in our medically supervised setting where you will receive support and encouragement as well as ongoing coordination of your care with your physician. It’s a great way to stick with the good exercise routines and healthy lifestyle choices you learned outpatient rehab.
Other tips for individuals having trouble exercising on their own include:
Ask the Cardiac Experts
Our experts from Mary Washington Cardiology and Cardiopulmonary Health and Fitness held a live event on Facebook to discuss and answer questions women's cardiac issues. The experts in part 4 of this 4-part series were Anna Tomdio, MD, FACC; and Shari Denecke, MS, Exercise Physiologist, MWH Cardiopulmonary Health & Fitness.
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