Cardiac Rehabilitation

Cardiac rehabilitation

A second chance
 

If you've had a heart attack, other heart condition or heart surgery, cardiac rehabilitation may help get you back to leading as active and productive a life as possible. Through rehab, you can regain strength, vitality and confidence, and you may feel better in many ways than you did before.

Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised exercise and counseling program designed to help overcome some of the physical complications of heart disease, limit your risk of developing additional heart trouble, help you return to an active social or work schedule, and improve your psychological well-being. It has four main components:

  • Medical evaluation

  • Supervised exercise

  • Lifestyle education

  • Psychosocial support

When heart problems struck Jonathan Stee, Denise Kinlaw and Joanne Pieper, they were leading very different lives from the ones they're forging today. Poor eating habits, smoking, physical challenges, a waning inner spirit, and social isolation contributed to their unhealthy lifestyles.

But their heart problems afforded an unexpected — if initially unwelcome — opportunity to make a difference in their own lives. Come along and see how they did it.

 

 
 
Lifestyle changes
 

In the wee hours of the morning on St. Patrick's Day, 2001, Jonathan Stee awoke in discomfort. Thinking it was indigestion, he went back to sleep. But at work later that day, he felt tightness and pain in his chest, and this time he went to the hospital. The diagnosis: a mild heart attack.

Stee joined a cardiac rehabilitation program and vowed to overhaul his lifestyle. "My life has changed considerably," says Stee, 50. "It was a huge wake-up call."

He quit smoking the day of the heart attack, and through the cardiac rehab program, he began exercising and changed his diet. "When I think about having a cigarette, I think about the alternative and that's being on the wrong side of the green grass," he says.

Stee has cut much of the fat from his diet, has added healthier foods and eats smaller portions. And for the first time in his adult life, he exercises regularly, walking nearly every day for an hour.

The dividends have been huge, he says. Both he and his wife say he looks and feels better than he has in years. "I'm getting more exercise, I'm eating better foods, I'm dropping a little weight," he says. "This has been a very positive experience."

 

Renewed faith
 

Denise Kinlaw, 49, felt debilitated both physically and emotionally when she developed heart failure as a result of rheumatic fever in childhood. During the month before surgery to replace her aortic and mitral valves, she had difficulty breathing, had to walk very slowly, had to avoid stairs and inclines, and she used a cane.

"This was not what I had been used to," she explains. "I felt motivated to get better because I'd been used to a certain quality of life."

Kinlaw found hope and help through a cardiac rehab program. It provided structure, supervised exercise and encouragement, on top of the spiritual support offered by her community and church family.

"However frequently I went to the program, I could just see the progress," she says. "I was feeling better every day and was able to do more."

For Kinlaw, her faith was an important source of strength during recovery. "I do believe the Lord had a plan here," she says. "I couldn't have had a better feeling going into the rehab program. It offered a sense of peace."

But recovery took time, patience and persistence, and it was nearly a year before she regained her top form. "I did get back to that state of well-being I was used to," she says.

 
Group support
 

Joanne Pieper enjoys the company of her fellow cardiac rehab program participants and looks on them as a support group of sorts.

"We all have some type of heart problem," she says. "We all kind of like to talk about our problems with each other and get a little help and encouragement. It's just a very supportive environment, a nice group to talk to."

Pieper joined a cardiac rehab program after having aortic valve replacement in 1993, and she's remained with it ever since. "It makes me feel really good — physically, mentally, everything," says Pieper, 71. "If I weren't exercising, I don't think I would feel this good."

Her program includes exercising on a treadmill, stretching and weightlifting. And a healthy dose of socializing. "We might get a treadmill here at home some day," she says, "but then I wouldn't have all these nice people to talk to."

Pieper jokes that she'll keep with the program until they won't let her through the doors anymore. "I never thought after I retired that I'd be getting up at 6 in the morning again, but here I am," she says. "I'm really glad they have a program, and I'm glad they let me stay for so long."

 
 
The heart of the matter
 

A new way of living. Physical and emotional strength. Friendship and support. Like Jonathan Stee, Denise Kinlaw and Joanne Pieper, many people look back on a heart problem as a catalyst that ultimately leads to positive change in their lives.

Cardiac rehabilitation takes time — at least six months — and it's not always easy. It's also not suited for everyone with a heart problem, and your results may vary for reasons beyond your control. Or maybe you lived a healthy lifestyle and developed heart problems anyway.

But for most people in cardiac rehab, the hard work put into it offers many rewards. Participation maximizes your ability to regain your independence and provides the knowledge to ensure that healthy living will become a permanent part of your future.

Jonathan SteeJoanne PieperCardiac rehabilitation
 

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