High Cholesterol

• Cholesterol is a fat (lipid) which is normally found in the blood. A larger than normal amount of cholesterol can cause a buildup in the blood vessels, slowing or blocking the flow of blood.
  
  
• After your surgeon releases you from his care, it is important that you follow your cholesterol levels with your regular medical doctor.
  
  
• What you eat and how much exercise you get affects your cholesterol level.
  

High Blood Pressure

• High blood pressure (hypertension) causes an increased pressure on the walls of your arteries. This makes the heart have to work harder.
  
  
• If you have been told that you have high blood pressure, it is very important that you take all of you medicines, even if you feel okay. You may need to lose weight to bring your pressure sure down, and you definitely need to stop smoking.

Smoking

• Smoking increases your risk of heart attack by fifty percent. Nicotine causes the blood vessels to narrow, which may keep blood from flowing normally.
  
  
• Smoking also increases the chance of blood clots.
  
  
• Nicotine damages the walls of arteries and increases levels of cholesterol.
  
  
• Secondhand smoke is bad for you and can cause the same problems.
  
  
• St. Thomas Hospital offers help to stop smoking both while you are in the hospital and after you go home. Please ask us!

Diabetes

• When a person has diabetes, there is typically an increased level of sugar in the blood. This causes the blood vessels to become thick, narrowing the area where blood must flow through.
  
  
• Carefully monitoring your sugar level and working with your doctor and diabetes care team to keep your diabetes under control is critical.
  
  
• Eating as instructed, exercising, taking your medicine, and controlling your weight will all help control your blood sugar which will prevent damage to your blood vessels caused by diabetes.

Weight

• Too many extra pounds hurts your heart. Your heart has to work harder and your blood pressure goes up.
  
  
• Being overweight may cause you to develop diabetes and will increase your cholesterol level.
  
  
• It's harder to breathe when you weigh too much. Not getting enough oxygen is hard on your heart.
  
  
• Eating properly and getting exercise are the best ways to reach your ideal body weight.

Stress

• Your health is more important than whatever causes you to be stressed.
  
  
• It's impossible to avoid all stress, but you can make an effort to decrease it!
  
  
• Stress makes your blood pressure go up and that makes your heart work harder.
  
  
• Figure out what causes you the most stress, and if possible avoid it. If you can't avoid it, you can make changes in how it affects you.
  
  
• Get plenty of rest and sleep. Regular exercise is an excellent way to reduce stress. Ask for professional help if you need it.

Cardiac Rehabilitation
Improve your chances of surviving a heart condition by 25%

Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation consists of a number of services to help patients achieve and maintain optimal health. Cardiac rehabilitation has two essential components, which can be tailored to the needs and preferences of the patient.

• Exercise training to improve exercise tolerance and stamina.
  
• Education, counseling, and behavioral interventions to help patients understand their heart problems and what they can do to achieve and maintain optimal health.

Benefits of Cardiac Rehabilitation

• Reduction in Mortality: Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation has been shown to reduce death rates in patients after heart attack by 2.5 percent.
  
• Exercise Tolerance: The most consistent benefits occur when patients exercise 3 times a week, 20 to 40 minutes at a time, at 70 to 85 percent of the baseline exercise test heart rate. Exercise training should last for 12 or more weeks. Continued exercise is recommended to maintain the benefits of exercise training.
  
• Improved Symptoms: Cardiac rehabilitation decreases anginal pain and improves heart failure symptoms.
  
• Improved Blood Fat Levels: Nutritional education counseling and behavioral interventions improve cholesterol levels. Many patients also need cholesterol- lowering medications.
  
• Smoking Cessation: As many as 25 percent of patients who smoke cigarettes will quit after participating in a smoking cessation program.
  
• Improved Sense of Well-Being: Education, counseling, and psychosocial interventions, as well as exercise training, improve a patient's sense of well-being.

Heart Disease Facts

• An estimated 13.5 million Americans have coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in men and women in the United States.
  
• Almost 1 million Americans survive heart attacks.
  
• Over 600,000 have coronary artery bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty.
  
• 2,000 have heart transplants.
  
• 7 million live with recurring chest pain.
  
• 4.7 million live with stable heart failure.

Cardiac Rehabilitation is presently underutilized. Less than a third of all patients who could benefit from cardiac rehabilitation presently receive it.

For more information about Cardiac Rehabilitation consult with your physician or call: 615-222-2008.