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Cardiac Rehabilitation:
Helping you survive after a heart attack
BY ANNA WILSON
BLUE RIDGE HEALTHCARE
VALDESE - Dan Dobson is
the golf pro at Mimosa Hills
Country Club. His heart attack last January took everyone by surprise. After
surgery, Dobson’s physician
referred him to the Blue
Ridge HealthCare’s Cardiac
Rehabilitation Program at
Valdese Hospital.
“Dan is one of our star
pupils,” said Beth Blanton,
RN, who has worked with the
state certified program for
more than nine years. The
program helps heart patients
recover quickly and improve
their overall physical and
mental health.
For three months, Dobson
diligently worked with a
team of two nurses, an exercise physiologist and a dietitian to increase his strength
and stamina. He also became
a favorite because of his keen
sense of humor and easy-going manner.
The key to surviving a
heart attack, he joked, is “giving up women and increasing
the beer.”
In all seriousness, Dobson
said since May he’s kept up
with his exercise and modified his behaviors by cutting
back on sodium and not dining out as much.
“This program was really
good for me,” Dobson said.
“They work you gradually
and you learn your limits.
It’s better than trying to do it
on your own. You really don’t
know what you can do after
you’ve had a heart attack.”
Benjamin Garrou, MD, is
medical director of the cardiac rehab program. In addition, the patient’s personal
physician is consulted and
sent progress reports.
Patients referred to the cardiac rehab program will find
their first order of business
ANNA WILSON | BLUE RIDGE HEALTHCARE
Kay Lewis, RN, checks Dan Dobson’s heart rate and oxygen levels.
ANNA WILSON | BLUE RIDGE HEALTHCARE
Beth Blanton, RN, waits for a read out on the new telemetry station set up in Blue Ridge HealthCare’s Cardiac
Rehabilitation. The patient wears leads connected to a telemetry pack which measures, records and transmits
the electrical activity of the heart while the patient is exercising. Blanton and the second cardiac rehab nurse,
Kay Lewis, RN, keep an eye on the patient’s heart, checking for any irregular activity.
is weigh-in and blood pressure check. Then they are
hooked up to the state-of-theart telemetry system, which
measures, records and transmits the electrical activity of
the heart while the patient is
exercising.
With a baseline EKG obtained from the patient’s
physician, the telemetry
helps the staff detect irregular heart rhythms or problems during exercise or cool
down. A separate machine
measures heart rate and the
levels of oxygen in the blood.
“With its 12 leads, it picks
up every side of the heart,”
said Kay Lewis, RN. “We
are able to catch things we
wouldn’t have caught before.
We had a few patients go into
a-fib (atrial fibrillation – abnormal heart rhythm), and
were able to get them hospitalized.”
The supervision brings
peace of mind to many patients and to the staff, Blanton
said. “We feel a lot more confident with our patients being
monitored,” she said.
“When they first come here,
they are nervous. They think
we’re going to put them on
the treadmill and really work
them. We don’t. We start them
slowly and build up.”
Everyone needs to keep
in mind that the heart is a
muscle, she added. “It will get
better and stronger with exercise,” Blanton said. “We just
make sure you’re doing the
correct amount of exercise.”
Most cardiac rehab patients come three days a week
for an hour each day. Most of
that hour is spent exercising on an array of machines
- treadmills, stationary and
recumbent bikes, etc. At least
once a week, patients will
learn about food and nutrition from registered dietitian
Lisa Bartholomew, RD.
“We also offer a lot of education on the heart, medications and stress management,” Blanton said.
It was during these sessions, that Dobson learned
he could control most of the
risk factors associated with
heart disease except for two –
his gender (men have a greater risk of heart attacks and
have them earlier in life) and
Heart disease risk factors
The American Heart Association has identified several risk factors. Some of them can be
modified, treated or controlled, and some can’t. The more risk factors you have, the greater
your chance of developing coronary heart disease.
MAJOR RISK FACTORS THAT CAN’T BE CHANGED
INCREASING AGE: More 83 percent of people who die
of coronary heart disease are 65 or older. At older
ages, women who have heart attacks are more likely
than men are to die from them within a few weeks.
risk factors (such as high blood pressure and tobacco
smoke) are present, this risk increases even more.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE — High blood pressure increases
the heart’s workload, causing the heart to thicken and
become stiffer. It also increases your risk of stroke, heart
MALE SEX (GENDER) — Men have a greater risk of heart attack, kidney failure and congestive heart failure.
attack than women do, and they have attacks earlier
PHYSICAL INACTIVITY — An inactive lifestyle is a risk
in life.
factor for coronary heart disease. Regular, moderateHEREDITY (INCLUDING RACE) — Children of parents with to-vigorous physical activity helps prevent heart and
heart disease are more likely to develop it themselves. blood vessel disease. The more vigorous the activity,
the greater your benefits. However, even moderateMost people with a strong family history of heart
intensity activities help if done regularly and long term.
disease have one or more other risk factors. Just as
you can’t control your age, sex and race, you can’t
control your family history. Therefore, it’s even more
important to treat and control any other risk factors
you have.
MAJOR RISK FACTORS THAT CAN BE MODIFIED,
TREATED OR CONTROLLED
OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT — People who have excess
body fat — especially if a lot of it is at the waist — are
more likely to develop heart disease and stroke even if
they have no other risk factors. Excess weight increases
the heart’s work.
DIABETES MELLITUS — Diabetes seriously increases
your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Even when glucose (blood sugar) levels are under
control, diabetes increases the risk of heart disease
and stroke, but the risks are even greater if blood
sugar is not well controlled. About three-quarters of
people with diabetes die of some form of heart or
blood vessel disease.
HIGH BLOOD CHOLESTEROL — As blood cholesterol rises,
- Courtesy of the American Heart Association
so does risk of coronary heart disease. When other
TOBACCO SMOKE — Smokers’ risk of developing
coronary heart disease is 2–4 times that of nonsmokers.
Cigarette smoking is a powerful independent risk
factor for sudden cardiac death in patients with
coronary heart disease; smokers have about twice the
risk of nonsmokers.
his family history (children
of parents with heart disease
are more likely to develop it
themselves). See sidebar on
risk factors
In addition, Blanton said
the staff is very positive
and the patients bond over
the course of their rehab.
“There’s a lot of community
spirit here,” she said. “It’s a
wonderful program.”
Dobson agrees.
“I felt comfortable with
them,” he said. “I saw how
they treated others as they
came in, too. People come in
leery or skeptical of the program, but the staff makes
you feel good about working
out. Since I had my mine, two
other members of the club
have had heart attacks, and
I’ve told them they should
come here for their rehab.”
For three months, the staff
and other patients become
like family.
“It’s a very rewarding job,”
Blanton said. “I see people
come in here weak and pale,
and I get to watch them get
stronger and stronger.”
Next week on the health
page, we’ll be featuring our
pulmonary rehab program.
DO YOU NEED
CARDIAC
REHAB?
DID YOU:
Have heart surgery?
Suffer a heart attack?
Have stable angina?
Have stent placement?
Blue Ridge HealthCare’s state-certified
Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at Valdese
Hospital may be able to help you recover
from a heart attack, cardiac surgery or
other heart-related illnesses in order to
resume a more active and productive
lifestyle. Patients are referred to the
program by their physician, who receives
monthly progress reports. Ask your doctor
if you may benefit from the program, or call
the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at 8797528 and we’ll call your doctor for you.
ANNA WILSON | BLUE RIDGE HEALTHCARE
Beth Blanton, RN, makes sure Dobson has the treadmill set correctly
before he begins exercise.
ANNA WILSON is a writer and graphic artist in Blue Ridge HealthCare’s Marketing and Public Relations Department.
Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
Valdese Hospital
(828) 879-7528