The cardiac rehabilitation department was welcomed to the Castleview Hospital Wellness Center in July with the goal of improving the quality of life and reducing cardiac risk for cardiac patients.
Cardiac rehab is a physician-supervised exercise therapy that focuses on lifestyle modification and progressive exercise. A physician referral is required for the rehab and it is an individualized program for the duration of two to three times per week for 12 weeks.
The cardiac rehab team consists of Dr. Glenn Etzel as the medical director, Brian Powell as the therapy director, Chase Maddock as the cardiac rehab coordinator and Nikell Tamllos as the exercise physiologist. Patients that qualify include those that have suffered a recent heart attack, coronary artery disease, recent heart and valve surgeries, and much more.
Plenty of patient self-management education is taught through the rehab alongside the cardio and resistance training. Generally, there are 36 sessions for a patient and, depending on the severity, more may be added.
The symptoms that the team look for the most is angina, shortness of breath and the like. The rehab is typically covered by insurance and is now welcomed at Castleview due to it being a growing service in the medical industry due to the benefits that have been discovered. Cardiac rehab participants have a 58% risk reduction of mortality as the rehab assists with focusing on improving cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes through the exercises.
Typical benefits for cardiac rehab patients are lipid improvement for cholesterol, blood pressure control, weight management, diabetes control, stress management and smoking cessation. Greater than two million Americans are eligible for cardiac rehab post-heart attack. The rehab provides significant physiological benefits as well.
Be sure and consult a physician to learn if the rehab is the right program for you. To contact the cardiac rehab department, call (435) 636-4841 or (435) 613-6159.