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Cardiac Rehabilitation
“My job is to teach secondary prevention,” says Nancy Houlihan, RN (shown at far right), a cardiac rehab nurse.
“I love seeing them get their lives back. Some of them are so frightened at first. Then they realize that not only are they going to live, but they can live very well just by making some changes in their lives.”
Recovering from a heart attack or heart surgery? St. Anthony’s certified Cardiac Rehabilitation offers a medically monitored program with individualized exercise and lifestyle programs so that patients can regain their strength, adopt healthier habits and return to their normal level of activity.
Patients are guided through physical recover and lifestyle changes like smoking cessation, dietary changes, stress management, weight loss, blood pressure monitoring and diabetes management.
Patients also can come to a clinic to use equipment specifically designed to exercise the cardiovascular system, including treadmills, bicycles and arm cycles.
Program Levels
Whether a patient has suffered a heart attack, been diagnosed with congestive heart failure or had heart surgery, St. Anthony’s offers a complete Cardiac Rehab program to meet his or her needs.
- Phase I is provided to inpatients. With a nurse’s assistance, the patient begins to make the transition from complete bed rest to light exercise. He or she also receives information and instruction about lifestyle changes to help reduce the risk of future cardiac problems.
- Phase II is provided to outpatients. Our Cardiac Rehab staff develops an individualized, medically-monitored exercise program tailored to each patient to help increase cardiovascular capacity and regain physical strength and abilities. Patients attend up to three one-hour exercise sessions each week at St. Anthony’s Cardiac Rehab clinic where they use treadmills, bicycles and arm cycles. While exercising, the patient’s heart response is monitored on a telemetry unit and blood pressure is taken regularly. A Cardiac Rehab nurse is available to answer questions and offer information about making lifestyle changes to minimize additional heart damage and improve heart health.
- Also provided to outpatients, Phase III is an extended exercise program for rehab graduates and new patients who need guidance and supervision to ensure safe exercise. The program emphasizes an aerobic exercise approach to cardiovascular fitness monitored by an exercise physiologist. The patient’s activities and progress are recorded after each exercise session and periodic progress notes are sent to his or her physician. Cardiac Rehab staff continues to provide information about lifestyle changes that can reduce the risk of further damage to the heart and improve heart health.
For information or a physician referral, please call 800.554.9550 or visit our online physician referral.
At St. Anthony's, our vision is to be the area's premier health care organization — and your first choice for health care services.