Cardiac Rehabilitation Research Paper
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised program to help heart patients recover quickly and improve their overall physical, mental and social functioning. The goal is to stabilize, slow or even reverse the progression of cardiovascular disease, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease, another cardiac event or death. Cardiac rehabilitation programs include:
Counseling so the patient can understand and manage the disease process
Beginning an exercise program
Counseling on nutrition
Helping the patient modify risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes.
Providing vocational guidance to enable the patient to return to work
Supplying information on physical limitations
Lending emotional support
Counseling on appropriate use of prescribed medications
The long-term success of any secondary prevention program is directly related to patient compliance. Evidence suggests that improving the plasma lipid and lipoprotein profile with diet, exercise and drug therapy benefits patients. And those who quit …show more content…
smoking significantly reduce their risks of another heart attack, sudden death, stroke and total mortality compared with those who continue to smoke.
When supervised by a physician, cardiac rehabilitation is helpful to patients with congestive heart failure, angina pectoris (chest pain due to clogged heart arteries), recent heart attack, coronary artery bypass graft surgery or PTCA (balloon angioplasty) or who've had a pacemaker implanted, are heart transplant candidates or recipients, or have stable chronic heart failure, peripheral arterial disease with claudication, or other forms of cardiovascular disease.
It also applies to patients with congenital cardiovascular disease, who may or may not have had surgery. An exercise program is normally included, but rehabilitation usually is tailored to each patient's needs. Exercise may be very structured, including ECG monitoring, or less structured, with infrequent monitoring. It depends upon the patient's specific heart problem and other health
problems.
Despite experiencing a recent life-threatening cardiac event, only 15-40% of persons having cardiac events are exercising 6 months later. This downward trajectory of exercise during the year following a cardiac event has resulted in a large number of cardiac patients who are not exercising at levels needed to achieve and/or retain the health benefits of exercise.
Exercise following an acute cardiac event has been shown to increase cardiovascular functional capacity and overall health. However continued exercise is required to maintain desired effects.
This downward trajectory of exercise during the year following a cardiac event has resulted in a large number of cardiac patients who are not exercising at levels needed to achieve and/or retain the health benefits of exercise. Combining all aspects of cardiovascular rehabilitation in appropriate patients improves functional capacity and quality of life, reduces risk factors and may create a sense of well-being and optimism about the future.
Al-Duhoun, A.H. (2004). Effect of Cardiac Rehabilitation Attendance on Social Support for Exercise, Motivation and Self-efficacy for Exercise after Cardiac Events. Case Western Reserve University.
Moore, S.M. & Charvat, J.M. (2006). Injuries and illnesses as triggers for cessation of lifestyle exercise in the year following a cardiac event. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 31 (Supplement) , S065.
Al-Duhoun, A. & Moore, S.M. (April, 2005). Effect of Cardiac Rehabilitation Attendance on Social Support for Exercise, Motivation, and Self-efficacy for Exercise after Cardiac Events. Poster presented at the Midwest Nursing Research Society 29 th Annual Research Conference, Cincinnati, OH.
American Heart Association
Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised program to help heart patients recover quickly and improve their overall physical, mental and social functioning. The goal is to stabilize, slow or even reverse the progression of cardiovascular disease, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease, another cardiac event or death. Cardiac rehabilitation programs include:
Counseling so the patient can understand and manage the disease process
Beginning an exercise program
Counseling on nutrition
Helping the patient modify risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes.
Providing vocational guidance to enable the patient to return to work
Supplying information on physical limitations
Lending emotional support
Counseling on appropriate use of prescribed medications
The long-term success of any secondary prevention program is directly related to patient compliance. Evidence suggests that improving the plasma lipid and lipoprotein profile with diet, exercise and drug therapy benefits patients. And those who quit …show more content…
smoking significantly reduce their risks of another heart attack, sudden death, stroke and total mortality compared with those who continue to smoke.
When supervised by a physician, cardiac rehabilitation is helpful to patients with congestive heart failure, angina pectoris (chest pain due to clogged heart arteries), recent heart attack, coronary artery bypass graft surgery or PTCA (balloon angioplasty) or who've had a pacemaker implanted, are heart transplant candidates or recipients, or have stable chronic heart failure, peripheral arterial disease with claudication, or other forms of cardiovascular disease.
It also applies to patients with congenital cardiovascular disease, who may or may not have had surgery. An exercise program is normally included, but rehabilitation usually is tailored to each patient's needs. Exercise may be very structured, including ECG monitoring, or less structured, with infrequent monitoring. It depends upon the patient's specific heart problem and other health
problems.
Despite experiencing a recent life-threatening cardiac event, only 15-40% of persons having cardiac events are exercising 6 months later. This downward trajectory of exercise during the year following a cardiac event has resulted in a large number of cardiac patients who are not exercising at levels needed to achieve and/or retain the health benefits of exercise.
Exercise following an acute cardiac event has been shown to increase cardiovascular functional capacity and overall health. However continued exercise is required to maintain desired effects.
This downward trajectory of exercise during the year following a cardiac event has resulted in a large number of cardiac patients who are not exercising at levels needed to achieve and/or retain the health benefits of exercise. Combining all aspects of cardiovascular rehabilitation in appropriate patients improves functional capacity and quality of life, reduces risk factors and may create a sense of well-being and optimism about the future.
Al-Duhoun, A.H. (2004). Effect of Cardiac Rehabilitation Attendance on Social Support for Exercise, Motivation and Self-efficacy for Exercise after Cardiac Events. Case Western Reserve University.
Moore, S.M. & Charvat, J.M. (2006). Injuries and illnesses as triggers for cessation of lifestyle exercise in the year following a cardiac event. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 31 (Supplement) , S065.
Al-Duhoun, A. & Moore, S.M. (April, 2005). Effect of Cardiac Rehabilitation Attendance on Social Support for Exercise, Motivation, and Self-efficacy for Exercise after Cardiac Events. Poster presented at the Midwest Nursing Research Society 29 th Annual Research Conference, Cincinnati, OH.
American Heart Association