Rehabilitation After a Cardiac Event

Baptist Health Lexington: Rehabilitation After a Cardiac Event

Cardiac rehab nurse Lindsay Bowles, RN, BSN, talks about the importance of cardiac rehabilitation after suffering from a heart attack, surgery or other cardiac condition.

Rehabilitation After a Cardiac Event Health Talks Transcript

Lindsay Bowles, RN, BSN, Cardiac Rehab Nurse
A heart event is when a patient is in the hospital from a heart attack; maybe they had stent replacement; they had bypass surgery, valve surgery, and they could also be suffering from congestive heart failure. After that event, we go out as nurses and we recruit them, or they’re also referred by a physician to our facility.

Bart Rogers, Lexington, Kentucky
The first person to visit me was from Cardiac Rehab. She told me about the program and the fact that it was monitored by RNs. They were carefully planning a strategy for me to get my heart more healthy. I had a heart monitor on for the first three months, so I knew they were watching while I was exercising, so I wasn’t guessing, or I wasn’t afraid that I might do something that I shouldn’t be doing.

Bowles
Then, when they complete phase two, the patient has an option of going to a private gym, or they can join us here in [our] phase three maintenance program. They get everything but the heart monitor at that point, so we’re taking blood pressures and talking to them about emotional standpoint of having a heart event. We talk a lot about diet. We want them to continue to be healthy, and we feel a part of it.

Rogers
A year ago I had a lot of bad habits, and I knew I had to change in order to not have the same problem with my heart again. The cardiac rehab program has been really key to making those changes.