Program Description:
Cardiac rehabilitation services are designed to help patients with heart disease recover faster and return to full and productive lives. Cardiac rehabilitation includes exercise, education, counseling, risk factor reduction, and learning ways to improve health.

The Cardiac Health and Rehabilitation Center is located in the North Annex of the hospital, on the main floor.

Cardiac Health and Rehabilitation
Benefits of Cardiac Rehab
Exercise Training
Wellness and Risk Factor Modification
Individualized Program
Preventive Counseling
Referrals to the Program
Program Certification
 

Also see these sites..: Diabetic Health and Education and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
  
C.P.G.H.’s Cardiac Health and Rehabilitation Center is the Kenai Peninsula’s only cardiac rehabilitation program.

Cardiac Health and Rehabilitation Program
Cardiac rehabilitation services are specifically designed to help patients who have been diagnosed with heart disease recover faster and return to full and productive lives. It teaches you about heart disease and how to live more effectively with your heart condition. C.P.G.H.’s Heart Builders staff works with you, your family and your physician to provide a blueprint for a healthy life.

Cardiac diagnoses that may benefit from heart rehab may include, but are not limited to:

	Heart disease, such as angina (chest pain), coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure (CHF), heart attack (MI, Myocardial Infarction)
	Coronary bypass surgery or coronary revascularization (PTCA-balloon catheter, angioplasty, stent placement)
	Heart transplant (prior to surgery and after surgery)
	Heart valve replacement
	Irregular heart beat

Recovery from problems arising from heart disease requires time and patience as well as understanding from family and friends. Recovery also requires the willingness to change areas of lifestyle that may have contributed to heart problems.

Central Peninsula General Hospital has developed a cardiac health and rehabilitation program structured to assist in recovery. While there is no known "cure" for heart disease it has been shown that behavior modification can help reduce contributing risk factors.

Central Peninsula General Hospital’s Cardiac Health and Rehabilitation program has three phases. Phase I starts in the hospital and includes supervised progression of activity, and education and instruction for developing a better understanding of the heart and how to protect it against further disease. Phase II begins after hospital discharge and involves a continuation of the education process for control of cardiac risk factors, as well as a medically supervised EKG-monitored cardiovascular training program. Phase III, is a continuation of the medically supervised exercise program, without continuous EKG monitoring. Necessary lifestyle modifications and risk reduction are still monitored and strongly encouraged. Following completion of the standard program, participants are provided an opportunity to continue their rehabilitation in our maintenance, or Phase IV, program.

Documented benefits of cardiac rehabilitation include the following:

	Improved exercise tolerance
	Increased strength
	Symptom improvement
	Enhanced sense of well-being
	Lifestyle improvements
	Improved mortality and morbidity

Our goal is to help improve your understanding of heart disease, enhance your ability to make heart-healthy choices, and return you to your highest level of activity and independence.

You will learn to exercise safely in a monitored setting at the hospital. As your physical status improves, you will graduate to less supervised group exercise classes.

Throughout these exercise sessions, your heart rate and rhythm are assessed through EKG monitoring. Blood pressure and pulse rate are also frequently obtained by the cardiac nurse. Classes are supervised by registered nurses trained in advanced cardiac life saving techniques.

Successful rehabilitation requires regular exercise and ongoing risk factor modification. If either is neglected, the benefits are soon lost and the risk of recurring cardiac problems increases. It is important to remember that you need to reach an appropriate level of fitness and maintain it throughout life.

The rehabilitation team includes you, your family, your personal physician who will direct your care, and registered nurses specially trained in cardiac rehabilitation and certified in both basic and advanced life support techniques. When indicated, you may receive additional care from dietitians, occupation and physical therapists, pharmacists and other health-care professionals. *Remember the most important member of you cardiac rehab team is you. No one else can make you exercise, quit smoking or eat a healthier diet.

When you have heart disease, breaking old habits and learning new ones can be stressful. Wondering about your future health can be stressful too. But the support of family and friends, as well as health-care professionals, can make a big difference in how you adjust to these changes.