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What Is a Cardiac Heart Attack Program in Short-Term Rehabilitation?

Woman receiving physical therapy from a female therapist

Each year, around 800,000 Americans have a heart attack, and for 25% of them, it’s not their first one. About 1 in 5 people aged 45 and over have a second heart attack within five years. Taking part in a cardiac rehabilitation program for heart attack can help prevent a second heart attack and decrease the risk of death over one to three years. Many people fully recover and live a long life after a heart attack. However, each year only 20% to 30% of those eligible enroll in a cardiac rehab program. Prevention efforts – including healthy lifestyle changes, medicines such as diuretics and ACE inhibitors, or a heart procedure – are crucial for lowering your risk and keeping you healthy. 

Preventing Another Heart Attack

Heart attack recovery takes anywhere from two weeks to three months. During this time, it’s important to begin adopting lifestyle changes that can lower your risk of a future heart attack. These include adding more exercise to your day like walking, following a heart-healthy diet and quitting smoking. A cardiac rehab program can help you take those first steps. 

Can Your Heart Fully Recover after a Heart Attack?

Your heart can recover from a heart attack, but it takes time. And the heart attack will likely leave some damage that doesn’t go away, in the form of scar tissue. The amount of heart damage varies according to several factors: 

  • The timing of treatment. The sooner you receive treatment, the less damage to your heart. 
  • The location of the blockage. Your coronary arteries supply blood to different areas of your heart. When a blockage happens in one artery, the specific area it supplies becomes deprived of blood. So, the extent of heart damage depends on where the blockage happens, and how much of your heart muscle that artery normally supplies. 
  • The type of treatment. It takes longer to recover from open-heart surgery compared with a percutaneous coronary intervention. 
  • Your overall health and other medical conditions. 

What is Cardiac Rehabilitation for Heart Attack?

Cardiac rehabilitation can be a life-changing step in the journey to recovery from heart failure, playing a critical role in improving quality and length of life. Cardiac rehab is a medically supervised program to help heart patients improve overall physical, mental and social function. The goal is to stabilize, slow or even reverse the progression of heart failure. This can help reduce the risk of heart disease, another cardiac event or death.  

Everything you need to get and stay healthy is in one place. Health care professionals are always on hand. Rehab can help you on the road to better heart health and can help to reduce your chances of future heart problems.

Cardiac rehab programs usually provide the following: 

  • A medical evaluation to determine your needs and limitations. 
  • A physical activity program tailored to your needs and limits. 
  • Counseling and education to help you understand your condition and how to manage it. 
  • Support and training to your normal activities. 
  • Counseling on modifying risk factors through nutrition and the use of prescribed medications. 

What Conditions are Treated/Managed with Cardiac Rehab?

Cardiac rehab is important for people who’ve had some kind of heart or blood vessel issue: 

  • Cardiac arrest 
  • Heart failure 
  • Use of a ventricular assist device 
  • Stable angina 
  • Heart or heart-lung transplant 
  • Heart valve repair or replacement 
  • Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) 
  • Coronary artery angioplasty with or without a stent 
  • Peripheral artery disease 

How Cardiac Rehabilitation Helps

Cardiac rehabilitation at a short-term rehabilitation center like Freedom Pointe at The Villages can have many health benefits in both the short and long term: 

  • Strengthening your heart and body after a heart attack. 
  • Relieving symptoms of heart problems, such as chest pain. 
  • Building healthier habits such as getting more physical activity, quitting smoking and eating a heart-healthy diet. 
  • Reducing stress. 
  • Improving your mood. People are more likely to feel depressed after a heart attack. Cardiac rehabilitation can help prevent or lessen depression. 
  • Increasing your energy and strength to make daily activities like carrying groceries and climbing stairs easier. 
  • Making you more likely to take your prescribed medicines that help lower your risk for future heart problems. 
  • Preventing future illness and death from heart disease.  

Highly Rated for Our Care

At Freedom Pointe, we take pride in helping our residents take back their independence and improve their quality of life. That’s probably why we’re consistently recognized as one of the best by U.S. News & World Report. To learn more about our cardiac heart failure rehabilitation program, use our Community Assistant chat feature or contact us here.