Cardiac Rehabilitation

For people with heart disease, a comprehensive rehabilitation program is essential to recovery. The Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at Washington Adventist Hospital is nationally certified through the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. It is designed to help prevent the progression of heart disease by improving the health status and quality of life. We offer a multidisciplinary program designed for your individual health care needs through:

Exercise

A typical program lasts up to 12 weeks and consists of group exercise sessions that are held three days per week.  Each session includes warm-up, conditioning, strengthening, cool down and relaxation exercises, plus education.  Sessions are supervised by a Registered Nurse and/or Exercise Physiologist skilled in both exercise training and advanced cardiac life support.  Each participant’s cardiac status is continuously monitored by telemetry.  We will keep your referring physician updated on your progress and provide you with home exercise instructions.  Once you’ve completed the program, the optional “On Target” program offers ongoing support and guidance in a supervised setting.

Education/Counseling on Risk Factor Reduction and Lifestyle Changes

We’ll provide educational materials and resources to help you and your family learn about your condition and preventative strategies to fight the progression of cardiovascular disease.

Support

We  are here to answer your questions and will work with you to establish an individualized exercise program and assist you in setting realistic goals to achieve a heart healthy lifestyle.  We can also provide referrals to appropriate health care specialists, as needed.

Research conducted by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (Cardiac Rehabilitation Outcomes, 1995) indicates that substantial benefits of cardiac rehabilitation include:

• Improvement in exercise
• Improvement in symptoms
• Improvement in blood lipid levels
• Reduction in cigarette smoking
• Improvement in psychological well-being and reduction of stress
• Reduction in mortality

Candidates for Cardiac Rehabilitation

Candidates include those who are recovering from heart attack, heart surgery, angioplasty/stent, angina or diagnosed coronary artery disease and individuals who are  at high risk of developing heart disease.

To participate in our program, a signed physician referral is required.  Please bring your referral to the center or ask your physician if Cardiac Rehabilitation will meet your recovery needs.

Costs

Most insurance companies cover the cost of cardiac rehabilitation. Our staff is happy to help you verify your insurance coverage.

Location

The Washington Adventist Cardiac Rehabilitation Center is located on the hospital campus in the Conference Center building.

Additional Information

For more information, call the Cardiac Rehabilitation Center at 301-891-6016.