What is a cardiac rehabilitation program?
A cardiac rehabilitation program is a medically supervised program designed to help heart patients recover quickly and improve their overall physical and mental health. You may be referred to a cardiac rehabilitation program after heart surgery, a heart attack, or a diagnosis of heart disease. Programs are available at most hospitals or within local communities across the country. The main goals of cardiac rehabilitation are to allow you to resume a normal, active, and productive life within the limits of your disease, and to reduce the risk of another heart problem or the worsening of a heart condition. Specifically, cardiac rehabilitation programs aim to reduce the risk of heart attacks, to alleviate angina (chest pain), and to prevent the progression of heart disease. These goals are achieved by supervised exercise training, nutritional counseling, stress management, aggressive management of risk factors, and careful monitoring of heart health. Phase II rehabilitation, also known as
