Exercise specialist Kathi Voytek monitors the progress of a patient at Sacred Heart Cardiac Rehabilitation and Wellness Center.
After cardiac surgery or hospitalization, patients often need specialized therapy to help them get back to their daily routines. New research indicates that the more a patient participates in a cardiac rehabilitation program, the better the outcome. As part of Sacred Heart Health System’s observance of Cardiac Rehabilitation Week in February, an effort continues to create more awareness about this latest news and the availability of cardiac rehabilitation programs at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola and Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast in Miramar Beach.
A report in the December 2009 issue of the online publication “WebMD Health News” shares that “more is better” when it comes to cardiac rehabilitation, but many patients don’t participate or just attend a few sessions. In a study of 30,000 heart patients who had participated in at least one cardiac rehab session between 2000 and 2005, researchers learned that about half the Medicare patients they studied attended 24 sessions of cardiac rehabilitation or less.
Researchers spent about four years following up with patients and discovered that those who participated in all 36 Medicare-reimbursed sessions were 14 percent less likely to die and 12 percent less likely to have a heart attack than patients who finished 24 sessions. The complete findings are scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of “Circulation,” the journal of the American Heart Association.
“Cardiac rehabilitation is a combination of supervised exercise and focused education designed to provide patients with the information and ability to begin and continue a new, healthy lifestyle,” says Dr. Paula Montgomery, a family practitioner and member of Sacred Heart Hospital’s medical staff in Pensacola. “This leads to the patient feeling stronger and living better, in addition to reducing the likelihood of repeat heart events.”
In Pensacola, the Cardiac Rehabilitation and Wellness Center is conveniently located on Airport Boulevard next to Airport Medical Park. The center’s professionals include exercise physiologists and RNs who work together with the prescribing physician to develop each patient’s individual treatment plan and education program with the goal of improving the patient’s physical and psychological well-being.
Staff members recognize that changing patients’ behaviors is key to helping them live longer, find renewed energy, lose weight and gain strength. They combine a compassionate approach with vast knowledge and experience in guiding patients to healthier, more productive lives. “Our patients range in age from the 20s to the 90s,” says Jan Whited, Cardiac Rehabilitation Coordinator at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. “I have great staff members who are professional, yet make the patient feel like family.”
The center provides a three- to 12-week program of monitored exercise therapy and is outfitted with state-of-the-art treadmills, weight-bearing equipment and cardiac-monitoring capabilities. Goals of cardiac rehabilitation include the following:
Increase strength and endurance;
Relieve stress and anxiety;
Monitor your medicine's effects on your heart; and
Reduce your risk factors for heart disease through exercise, education, and risk-factor modifications.
In addition, education classes are provided once a week on a variety of cardiovascular topics. The hospital dietitian serves as speaker for classes on nutrition.
“If a patient has no insurance or a high co-pay, we can get them into rehabilitation for at least nine sessions, which is better than no guidance at all,” says Jan.
Sacred Heart Cardiac Rehabilitation and Wellness Center is located at 1601 Airport Boulevard. For more information, call 850-416-6150.
In Miramar Beach, the program is similar to Pensacola’s offerings. Call the Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation Department at 850-278-3094.
SMALLER
NORMAL
LARGER
