Reduce risks of heart failure with cardiac rehabilitation

Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised program to help heart patients recover quickly and improve their overall physical, mental and social functioning. The main source of heart problem is often due to high blood pressure, smoking, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes. People should take care of their heart both before and after a heart problem starts. As per physician advice, cardiac rehabilitation is helpful to patients with congestive heart failure, chest pain due to clogged heart arteries, recent heart attack, and coronary bypass surgery, etc. Research has found that only 20 percent of patients seek cardiac rehabilitation after a heart attack or coronary bypass surgery. Rehabilitation has been found to help people reduce the risks of subsequent cardiac disease or disability by educating them about the cause and consequences of heart problem.

The rehabilitation helps patients in many ways. If someone has had a heart attack, they may be afraid to exercise because exercise training as part of cardiac rehabilitation may not be safe for all patients. For example, people who have very high blood pressure or severe heart disease may not be ready to exercise. These patients can still benefit from other parts of the cardiac rehabilitation program. Rehabilitation programs include exercise training, education on heart healthy living, and counseling to reduce stress, tension and help people return to an active life. People of all ages can benefit from cardiac rehabilitation but the lifestyle changes made during rehabilitation must be implemented. These changes can improve your overall health and prevent future heart problems. Now, rehabilitation includes helping patients with smoking cessation, diet, risk factors, and lifestyle habits. Rehabilitation best suits people who are just recovering from a heart attack or heart related illnesses as well as people who would like to regain their strength and fitness after a heart surgery. Cardiac Rehabilitation plays a vital role in bringing people to active life safely.

The Cardiac Rehabilitation program may vary from patient to patient and condition of the patient. The cardiac rehabilitation team will assess your physical and mental conditions and create an easy-to-follow plan. It will include warm up, flexibility exercises, cooling down, resistance training, and healthy eating plans.  It may also include steps to lower your high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, overweight and obesity, diabetes, smoking, emotional health,  and also counseling for sexual dysfunction. By combining all these aspects of cardiovascular rehabilitation in appropriate ways, a patient improves functional capacity, quality of life and creates a sense of well-being and optimism thus reducing the risk factors of heart failure in the future.