Cardiac Rehabilitation
What is cardiac rehabilitation?
If you have had a heart
attack or heart
surgery, cardiac rehabilitation gives you and
your family with the information, support and advice you need to
get you back on your feet again.
Cardiac rehabilitation is programme of exercise and information
sessions that help you to get back to everyday life as quickly as
possible. It aims to help you:
- Understand your condition
- Recover from your surgery or heart attack
- Make changes to your lifestyle that will help to improve your
heart health
- Reduce the risk of a heart attack
Who is it for?
Cardiac rehabilitation is available for anyone who's had:
Cardiac rehabilitation programmes can also help some people who
have angina or
heart failure.
When do I start cardiac rehabilitation?
Cardiac rehabilitation starts as soon as you go into hospital
for your angioplasty or surgery. A member of the cardiac
rehabilitation team will normally visit you on the ward to give you
information about your condition and about the treatment you've
had. They can give you with information about your condition
and recovery and getting back to your usual activities.
You should be invited to join a cardiac rehab programme starting
about four to eight weeks after you leave hospital.
Where is my nearest cardiac rehabilitation programme?
You can find out where your nearest cardiac rehabilitation
programme is at www.cardiac-rehabilitation.net or
call the BHF Heart
HelpLine on 0300 330 3311.
What if I can't attend a cardiac rehabilitation programme?
You may find that your condition or circumstances make it
difficult for you to travel to a cardiac rehab programme centre.
You should talk to the cardiac rehabilitation team about other ways
you can benefit from the programme - you may be able to follow
a programme in your own home with support from your local
cardiac rehab team.
Up to 38% of heart patients in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland, who need cardiac rehabilitation
don't have access to it. Join our National Campaign for Cardiac
Rehabilitation to help us make sure more people
receive life-saving cardiac rehab.
Find more information
Joining a heart support
group can give you and your family support and the
opportunity to meet and talk to people who have gone through
similar experiences.
Search our Publications section to order any of
the following resources:
- Cardiac rehabilitation booklet
- Rehabilitation CD or cassette
- Cardiac rehabilitation DVD - amed at the south
Asian community, this DVD has soundtracks in Urdu/Hindi, Gujarati,
Punjabi, Bengali and English.
- Looking forward: Life after a heart
attack DVD
- Lifelines - Heart surgery and
after DVD or Video
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