Rehab Select Blog

You recently suffered from a heart attack – and while it was scary, you’re starting to feel better. You’re following your doctor’s orders by eating heart-healthy foods, exercising, and reducing stress wherever possible. So why does your doctor still think you need a cardiac rehabilitation program?

Your heart is one of the most important muscles in your body. A properly functioning heart is the basis for living a healthy life. Unfortunately, heart disease — a condition where blood vessels leading to the heart get clogged with plaque, fat, and calcium — can wreak havoc on a person’s cardiac system and, thus, the entire body. 

Heart disease is one of the most dangerous diseases in the world. In 2021, it killed 695,000 people in the U.S. alone, accounting for one of every five deaths.  

Unlike standard physical therapy that treats conditions using routine procedures, personalized therapy takes all aspects of patient health into consideration. And this customized approach is especially helpful for people with heart disease.  

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Fortunately, many causes of this condition are treatable using a combination of prescription medications and the right treatments. 

Have you heard the term “acute myocardial infarction”? It’s actually medical terminology for what is commonly known as a heart attack. This cardiovascular event occurs when one of the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart, becomes blocked, causing blood flow to the heart to be suddenly cut off or critically reduced. This can lead to tissue damage in the heart that can result in significant impairment of heart function or death. 

If you have been diagnosed with heart disease, you’veprobably been told that you will need to make some changes in your lifestyle to improve your health and well-being. Whether that diagnosis came by way of your routine annual health exam or by means of a cardiac event, cardiac rehabilitation may be your best bet for making those changes quickly and, most importantly, effectively. If you’reasking yourself, “What is cardiac rehab,” then you’ve come to the right place. Here, we will explain what cardiac rehab is and how it can benefit individuals who have been diagnosed with heart disease. 

According to research, cardiac arrest affects 1,000 people a day and is deemed a national health crisis. What’s behind this startling statistic? Untreated heart disease is rampant in the United States.

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the U.S, accounting for 928,741 deaths in the year 2020. There are 2,396 deaths from CVD each day, which means that, on average, someone dies of CVD every 36.1 seconds in the U.S.

Considering these eye-opening numbers, you may wonder how to avoid becoming a statistic. Whether you are in perfect health or recovering from a cardiac event, now is always the right time to enact these heart-healthy practices. The good news is that there are several ways to help prevent cardiovascular issues like stroke and heart attack, and, in some cases, even ways to reverse damage that may already exist. The bad news is that, for those at risk, much of the protection comes in the form of serious lifestyle changes, and these changes aren’t always easy.

Is there a connection between stress and heart disease? Medical science has long thought so, a conclusion that has been supported by many studies over the years.An article from John Hopkins Medicinepoints out that “stress can increase inflammation in your body, which in turn is linked to factors that can harm your heart, such as high blood pressure and lower ‘good’ HDL cholesterol.” In addition, chronic stress affects your heart in a more indirect way, contributing to unhealthy lifestyle choices such as poor sleep, diet, and exercise habits that take a toll over time.

Cardiac therapy is often recommended for people who have heart disease, and/or had some sort of cardiac event like a heart attack. Cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, and heart failure patients can also often benefit from this therapy, to increase survival and improve quality of life.

According to the American Heart Association, cardiac rehab programs containthree essential parts: 

• Exercise counseling and training 
• Education for heart-healthy living 
• Counseling to reduce stress 

The relationship between anxiety and heart disease is a complex one. And this question is common: Is anxiety bad for the heart? In some cases, anxiety disorders can be one of the causes of heart disease, triggering, or worsening symptoms. In others, heart disease and its symptoms can cause patients great anxiety. And for some patients, it can be difficult to tell whether the symptoms they are experiencing – such as a fluttering or racing heart – are caused by anxiety or heart disease.

If you’ve recently suffered a heart attack, or are experiencing chronic or acute heart disease, you may be referred for cardiac rehabilitation.The American Heart Association defines cardiac rehab as “a medically supervised program designed to improve your cardiovascular health if you have experienced heart attack, heart failure, angioplasty or heart surgery.” The best cardiac rehabcenters design customized programs that include exercise and educationto help patients recover successfully, reduce and manage symptoms, and improve their quality of life.