The Mary Washington Healthcare cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation program
allows you to safely exercise with a heart condition or after heart surgery
under the supervision of trained professionals.
If you have had a heart attack or been diagnosed with a heart condition,
you may feel uncomfortable about starting to exercise or making other
lifestyle changes that your doctor recommends. You can safely improve
your physical conditioning and gain confidence with doing regular exercise
under the supervision of the trained professionals in the cardiovascular
and pulmonary rehabilitation program.
The professionals in cardiac rehabilitation include:
registered nurses
respiratory therapists
exercise physiologists
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 Rehab Team
is trained to deal with them.
Benefits of Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehabilitation:
Better chance of avoiding disability
Improved chances of returning to work
Decreased risk of death due to heart disease
Decreased risk of future heart attack
Fewer episodes of reduced blood flow to the heart (cardiac ischemia)
Improved physical functioning and strength
Less of a need for heart-related medications
Lower blood pressure
Lower levels of both “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol
and fats in the blood (triglycerides)
Relief from depression, fear and anxiety
Slowed development, or even reversal, of hardening of the arteries (arthrosclerosis)
Weight loss, as many individuals with coronary artery disease are overweight
MWHC Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Cardiopulmonary Health and Fitness, a department of Mary Washington Hospital
1201-B Sam Perry Boulevard, Suite 240
(Mary Washington Hospital Campus)
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
540.741.1447 Phone
540.741.1350 Fax
MWHC Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Podcast
Nicole Hinkle-Klaus and Shari Deneke with Mary Washington Healthcare visited
Town Talk with Ted Schubel to talk about the programs and work of Mary
Washington Healthcare Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. They also
discussed how to establish heart-healthy habits.
Clothing: Please wear loose fitting clothing, preferably cottons or cotton
blends. Shoes should be comfortable and designed for exercise with non-slip soles.
Medications: Notify staff of any medication changes. If you have inhalers
or nitroglycerine, please bring them to exercise sessions. If you are
a diabetic, bring your glucometer, snack or glucose tablets to each session.
No perfume or cologne allowed, no gum chewing while exercising.
Inpatient Cardiac Rehab
Your first meeting with the Cardiac Rehab Team occurs in the cardiac stepdown
unit following your surgery. They will teach you how to handle your transition
from hospital to home physically and emotionally. During Phase I of your
treatment, a rehab team member may help you begin a program of progressive
exercises so you can regain your strength and leave the hospital ready
for Phase II-early outpatient rehabilitation.
Early Outpatient Cardiac Rehab
During Phase II you follow an individualized program designed by your Cardiac
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 Cardiac 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:
Rebuild muscle
Improve your body’s ability to use oxygen by building strength and
endurance, and
Increase your overall physical function and confidence.
During group exercise sessions supervised by a cardiac nurse 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.
This phase typically lasts 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 five classes:
Risk Factors
Benefits of Exercise
Stress Management & Being Mindful to your Mental Health
External Enhanced Counterpulsation is a safe, non-invasive outpatient treatment
for ischemic heart diseases such as angina and heart failure. EECP®
Therapy typically improves symptoms, exercise performance, and quality
of life. Most patients sustain its benefits for more than two years.
Treatments are administered one hour a day, five days a week, for a total
of 35 sessions. Patients lie comfortably on a table with large blood-pressure-like
cuffs wrapped around their calves, thighs, and hips. The cuffs inflate
and deflate at specific times between heartbeats, increasing blood and
oxygen supply to the heart muscle, which improves its ability to pump
blood throughout the body.
Talk with your doctor to see if EECP® Therapy is right for you.
Cardiac Rehab Maintenance
To have lasting benefits from cardiac 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. Our Phase III Cardiac Rehab program
enables you to continue following your personal program 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 during Phase II.
Other tips for individuals having trouble exercising on their own include:
Avoid temptation to completely give up on exercising because you missed a day
Find ways to be more active during the day such as parking a little further
away from the store
Make exercise a routine that is done on the same days at the same times
Try different types of exercise: swimming, biking walking, water aerobics
and so forth
Pace yourself and do not push to the point of chest pains or severe shortness of breath
