Cardiac rehabilitation

After you experience a problem with your heart, cardiac rehabilitation can help you regain control as you move toward a healthier heart future. Cardiac rehab can also help you manage risk factors to reduce the chance of experiencing another cardiac event.

What is cardiac rehab?

At Advocate Heart Institute, cardiac rehabilitation is a team-based program designed around the needs of our patients. Our goal with cardiac rehab therapy is to help you recover after all types of cardiac events, such as a heart attack or cardiovascular surgery.

Cardiac rehabilitation includes three components:

• Exercise: We teach you how to exercise safely in monitored sessions immediately following your event and throughout your recovery.
• Education: Understanding your health challenges and risk factors can help prevent future heart problems. Our program enables you to understand heart conditions and how to make heart-healthy choices in the future.
• Counseling: Our program stresses the importance of your mental health through your recovery. Using a holistic approach, we address your overall well-being and support your emotional needs.

What diagnosis qualifies for cardiac rehab?

We work with all types of cardiac patients. Most people who enroll in cardiac rehabilitation attend after being treated for a heart condition or experiencing a cardiac event. You are eligible for rehabilitation after:

• Chest pain (angina)
• Cardiac catheterization
• Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery
• Coronary artery disease
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Heart valve surgery, replacement or repair
• Open-heart surgery
• Heart transplant
• Cardiovascular surgery
• Ventricular assist device (VAD) placement

When should cardiac rehab begin?

Heart patients should begin exercising as soon as possible after a cardiac event to improve cardiovascular strength. Cardiac rehab may start during your hospital stay and continues as outpatient therapy once you're back home.

Research shows that cardiac rehabilitation can also lower the chance of requiring hospital admission after initial treatment.

Benefits of cardiac rehabilitation at Advocate Heart Institute

Cardiac rehabilitation is an essential part of recovery. It can help you feel better and get back to the activities that you love. Other benefits of cardiac rehabilitation include:

• Increased activity levels: We help you safely increase exercise after a cardiac event so you can stay active and keep your heart healthy.
• Better quality of life: Heart disease and heart conditions don’t have to limit what you do. Cardiac rehabilitation helps you regain the confidence to do what makes you happy.
• Healthier body weight: Regular exercise and a healthy diet will help you maintain an appropriate body weight to reduce your risk of future heart events.
• Stress management: We will help you address stress and learn practical tools for managing it.

Multidisciplinary cardiac rehab team

At Advocate Heart Institute, cardiac rehabilitation is a team effort. Every member of our team has extensive experience and training in how to improve recovery after a cardiac event.

You will get continuity of care from the time you enter our hospital through all your aftercare and follow-up. We collaborate with physicians and providers throughout our health system to get you the best care before, during and after rehabilitation.

Getting started with cardiac rehab

Our cardiac rehabilitation program includes inpatient and outpatient stages. During the program, you get an individualized treatment and exercise plan. Care phases include:

Hospital care

Someone from our team meets with you while you are in the hospital following a cardiac event. We discuss a timeline for your recovery and show you some exercises you can do in the hospital.

A member of our team will also talk to you about the benefits of continuing cardiac rehabilitation. After your discharge you can discuss it with your cardiologist, who can refer you to the program for outpatient care.

Outpatient care

In this phase of cardiac therapy, you choose a class time and come three days a week for exercise and educational classes. Classes include 30 to 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, strength training and stretching. During your visit we monitor your vital signs, including blood pressure and heart rhythm.

Some of our programs include a dietitian that attends classes monthly, where they’ll talk about heart-healthy diets and how to prepare healthy meals. The total program includes 36 sessions over 12 weeks.

Home-based cardiac rehabilitation

We have a home-based cardiac rehabilitation program for patients who cannot attend in-person classes. Using an app and at-home monitoring tools, you:

• Monitor vital signs like blood pressure and heart rate each day and see a dashboard of all your results over time
• Attend virtual exercise classes through the app on a computer, tablet or smartphone
• Receive educational materials to help you create a heart-healthy lifestyle
• Attend in-person meetings at the facility once a month

Home-based cardiac rehab is ideal if you live far away or have other things that prevent you from coming to class regularly. This remote cardiac therapy option also gives you more flexibility to exercise on your own time.

Find a cardiac rehab location near you