If you're just recovering from a cardiac incident, walking on a treadmill may be the last thing you're interested in. You may feel tired and depressed and simply worried about survival—not about getting in a workout. But exercising under the watchful eyes of our cardiac rehabilitation team may be the ticket to survival and a better quality of life. In fact, if you're adjusting to life after a heart attack or you're living with certain other heart diseases, cardiac rehabilitation may help you feel better than you thought possible. Just because you have had heart problems— or have been told you are at risk for heart disease—you don’t have to become a spectator. Trust your heart to Humboldt General Hospital and begin building a better life today.
What is Cardiac Rehab?
If you are one of the 13 million Americans at risk for heart disease, or if you are one of the 1.5 million Americans who had a heart attack this past year, you may be a candidate for Cardiac Rehabilitation. Cardiac Rehab is a 12-week outpatient exercise and education program designed to help heart patients reduce or control cardiac risk factors, improve cardiovascular fitness and adjust to living with heart disease.
Are you a Rehab candidate?
Cardiac Rehab is designed for anyone with an existing or potential heart problem. Your physician can determine if our program is for you. Generally, our program benefits patients who have:
- Suffered a heart attack
- Had coronary bypass surgery
- Undergone angioplasty
- A heart pacemaker
- High-risk factors such as obesity, inactivity, diabetes, stress or smoking
- Family history of heart disease or hypertension
Benefits of Cardiac Rehab
You’ve heard that exercise can help prevent heart disease before it starts. But it also helps people with current heart conditions. Even light exercise can make a positive difference in your overall health. A structured and monitored exercise program can lower your pulse, blood pressure and cholesterol, while helping you function better in everyday life. The benefits don’t stop there. By being informed and taking positive steps to reduce your risks, you’ll gain confidence, feel an improved sense of well-being and have a renewed interest in life.
How Cardiac Rehab works
You’ll exercise three times a week for one hour each time. Your exercise sessions will be one-on-one and monitored by a professional. During each session, your heart rate and rhythm will be continuously monitored. Your exercise “prescription” will be adjusted throughout your program as your cardiovascular health improves. Progress reports will be sent to your physician. Of course, our center has the medical equipment necessary to handle any emergency situation. In addition to exercise, we emphasize education for both you and your family. This education focuses on nutritional guidance, stress management and modification of risk factors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a referral to participate? Yes, you must be referred, in writing, to our program by your physician.
Who staffs the program? Our team of health care professionals includes a supervising physician who will coordinate with physical therapists, Cardiac Rehab technicians, a wellness coordinator, a registered dietitian, and a stress management counselor to tailor a program specifically for you.
Will insurance cover the cost? Medicare and most insurance companies cover Cardiac Rehab costs when ordered by your physician. Please feel free to ask us specific questions about the costs of the program.
What happens after the 12 weeks? We will encourage you to enroll in a private exercise program after you finish our 12-week program. Your motivation will remain high as you continue to reduce your health risks through exercise and proper nutrition.
Information
For more information about the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at Humboldt General Hospital, please contact Humboldt General Hospital Wellness Coordinator Melissa House at 775.623.5222, ext. 258.
Following is the information for the HeartShare hot button. Please include the logo at the bottom of the page (attached).
HeartShare AED Program
About 465,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest. That’s over 1,250 a day — an average of 53 per hour.
Cardiac arrest usually results from some underlying form of heart disease. Most cardiac arrests are due to abnormal heart rhythms called arrhythmias.
Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the most common arrhythmia that causes cardiac arrest. Ventricular fibrillation is a condition in which the heart’s electrical impulses suddenly become chaotic, often without warning. That causes the heart’s pumping action to abruptly stop.
When cardiac arrest occurs, the victim loses consciousness, has no pulse and stops breathing normally. Death follows within minutes.
Defibrillation is the only known therapy for VF. This technique of giving an electrical shock can restore the heart’s normal rhythm if it’s done within minutes of the arrest. For every minute that passes without defibrillation, a victim’s chances of survival decrease by 7–10 percent.
After as little as 10 minutes, very few resuscitation attempts are successful.
Traditionally, the ability to defibrillate was solely in the hands of emergency medical personnel. They were trained to interpret arrhythmias and determine when a shock was needed. Survival depended on the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system being contacted and arriving quickly.
Unfortunately, quick EMS response isn’t always possible. Even the very best EMS systems experience delays from traffic, secured buildings, large building complexes and rural locations.
Today, however, a new generation of defibrillators, called automated external defibrillators (AEDs), make it possible for trained lay rescuers to deliver defibrillation.
The new AEDs are safe, effective, lightweight, low maintenance, easy to use and relatively inexpensive. That’s the good news.
The even better news is that having trained lay rescuers equipped with AEDs in settings where large numbers of people congregate saves precious minutes and improves survival rates for cardiac arrest victims.
Local facilities such as government buildings, libraries, schools, sports arenas, community centers, manufacturing plants and remote sites can benefit from having AEDs in place along with trained employees who know how to use them.
Currently, Humboldt General Hospital has a limited number of AEDs to distribute throughout the Winnemucca/Humboldt County community.
However, our ultimate goal is to have 200 AEDs in this area by the year 2011.
To be sure, 200 AEDs in five years is an ambitious goal, but we also know that it is an achievable goal with the help and generosity of local service clubs and organizations.
Your support will help save the lives of local cardiac arrest victims—our friends, neighbors and co-workers— who may not survive a sudden cardiac arrest without your generosity.
For more information on the Humboldt General Hospital Public Access Defibrillator Program, please contact Program Administrator Debbie Aitken at (775) 304.4747.
Please click here for the Cardiac Rehab Brochure.
