Our Cardiac Rehabilitation program is certified by the AACVPR American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation a national professional organization to promote high standards, education, safety and evaluation of programs.

Cardiac Rehabilitation is an exercise and education program designed to improve your quality of life after you've had a heart attack and to reduce the probability of another heart problem.

The goals of cardiac rehabilitation are to help you regain strength, to prevent your condition from worsening and to reduce your risk of future heart problems. These goals can add up to a better quality of life.

Cardiac rehabilitation has four main parts:

1) Medical evaluation. Initial and ongoing evaluation helps your HVSH health care team assess your physical abilities, medical limitations and other conditions you may have, and keep track of your progress over time. Your health care team explores your risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, stroke or high blood pressure. All of these findings help your team tailor a cardiac rehabilitation program to your individual situation, making sure it's safe and effective.

2) Physical activity; no longer is bed rest recommended if you have serious heart problems. Cardiac rehabilitation improves your cardiovascular fitness through walking, cycling and other endurance activities. You may also do strength training to increase your muscular fitness. Don't worry if you've never exercised before. Your cardiac rehabilitation team will make sure the program moves at a comfortable pace and one that's safe for you, but in general you should look at exercising three to five times a week. You'll be taught proper exercise techniques, such as warming up and stretching before beginning your exercise.

3) Life style education and guidance about diet and nutrition helps you shed excess weight by learning to make healthy food choices to reduce fat, sodium and cholesterol intake. You receive support and education on making life style changes and breaking unhealthy habits, such as smoking. You also learn how to manage pain and fatigue that may accompany your heart condition. Cardiac rehabilitation  also gives you ample opportunity to ask questions and get important information you need.

4) Support; adjusting to a serious health problem often takes time. You may feel depressed or anxious, lose touch with your social support system, or have to stop working for several weeks. If you get depressed, don't ignore it, because depression can make your cardiac rehab program more difficult, as well as impact your relationships and other areas of your life and health. Counseling will help you learn healthy ways to cope with depression and other feelings, and your doctor may also suggest medications such as antidepressants. Vocational or occupational therapy will teach you new skills to help you return to work.

Cardiac rehabilitation helps you rebuild your life, both physically and emotionally. As you get stronger and learn how to manage your condition, you'll likely return to a normal routine and enjoy life more. It's important to know that your chances of having a successful cardiac rehab program rest largely with you; the more dedicated you are to following your program's recommendations, the better you'll do.

Our award winning Cardiac Rehabilitation program and your health care team will navigate you through this rough time to a new and better tomorrow.