Not everyone is familiar with cardiac rehab services, but this video provides a brief walkthrough of these centers that provide medically supervised exercise and education programs to patients. Exercise physiologists and RNs design the programs to boost cardiac recovery after an event or surgery.

Cardiac rehab may be recommended for various patients: heart attack, angioplasty, chest pain, bypass, heart failure, heart transplants, peripheral vascular disease, and valve repair or replacement.

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Patients can begin rehab 4-8 weeks after leaving the hospital with a physician recommendation.

Together, the team designs an exercise routine for each patient while also providing education about risk factors such as high blood sugar, blood pressure, or cholesterol that contribute to further cardiac events or decrease heart health. This includes diet assessment and body composition analysis. Patients can expect to exercise three times weekly for 75 minutes in the morning at some cardiac rehab facilities. These exercise sessions are paired with EKG monitoring of the patient’s heart.

The benefits of cardiac rehab are undeniable. They increase heart and muscle strength and improve quality of life while reducing chest pain, shortness of breath, and stress. The CDC shows cardiac rehab lowers the risk of cardiac death by up to 57%.