Patients and their families are invited to attend our new patient orientation, which occurs every week and gives an overview of the program, a tour of our exercise facility, and an opportunity to ask questions about what to expect during the program.

The patient is then scheduled for a baseline walk test (a sub-maximal stress test which gives us information about the patient's current level of exercise capacity). At the same appointment, the patient and his/her family meet with one of our doctors to discuss the patient's readiness to begin the exercise program. This is a good chance to address any concerns patients and families may have about resuming exercise following a cardiac event.

After the walk test appointment, the patient is scheduled for an exercise orientation, during which he/she will be taught how to use a cardiac monitor, which will be worn during all exercise sessions. The cardiac monitor allows our staff to observe the cardiac activity of each patient, and to track and address any issues that may come up during exercise. An exercise physiologist then works with the patient to design an individualized exercise program, based on the patient's exercise capacity. After this appointment, patients are encouraged to begin coming in to exercise three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) to complete their exercise routine. Once a patient is established, he/she does not need to schedule a time to exercise, but can come in anytime Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. – noon, or between 1 – 5 p.m. Cardiac rehab patients are limited to these hours because these are the hours that our doctor is in the building. If a patient ever has problems while exercising, he or she is seen right away by our doctor on staff that day.

Within the first week or two of beginning the rehab program, patients and their families are scheduled to meet with Pam Fletcher, our registered dietician, to discuss dietary and nutritional concerns, and to develop a plan for making any recommended changes to make their diets more heart-healthy. If needed, families can meet again with Pam as they progress through the program.

Two weeks into the program, patients meet with one of our staff members to discuss their experience with the program so far, and to address any concerns they may have. This is also a good chance for us to talk with patients about any other issues that may be affecting their rehab and heart health (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression, etc.), and to offer support around these issues.

Four weeks into the program, patients meet with Goldyn Taylor, our exercise program coordinator, to assess their progress in the program and to make any desired adjustments to their specific exercise program. (At any time, patients are encouraged to let our staff know if the exercise level feels too strenuous or not challenging enough, but this four-week evaluation provides a more structured opportunity for us to evaluate these questions with each patient.)

Eight weeks into the program, patients meet again with one of our doctors to evaluate progress so far with the program and to address any medical concerns that may have come up. Again, patients are always encouraged to bring any medical concerns to our attention at any time during the program, but this appointment provides an additional opportunity to track medical progress for each patient.

At the twelve-week point (i.e., the end of the program), patients complete another walk test and visit with one of doctors again to compare their overall heart health and level of fitness at the end of the program as compared with the beginning. Our doctor will also discuss with the patient his or her plans for continuing to exercise and for continuing other heart-healthy changes made during the rehab program.

After the patient 'graduates' from the rehab program, he or she may choose to join our Preventing Heart Disease (PHD) program, which is a monthly membership to use our gym. If another gym (or a home exercise program) is more convenient, we will work with the patient to make that transition smoothly. Our primary concern is that patients continue exercising and maintain all the gains that they have made during the rehab program.

At the 6-month and year mark, patients are scheduled for a follow-up walk test, which allows our doctor to follow up with the patient and be sure no issues have arisen since the patient has finished the rehab program.

Throughout the course of the rehab program, our office will communicate with the patient's other health care providers regarding the patient's progress and any issues of concern that may arise.

We also encourage patients' family members to join our support program and exercise alongside their loved ones throughout the course of rehab. This provides moral and emotional support for both patients and their loved ones, and can be especially helpful in reducing the stress that families often feel after a major cardiac event.

For more information about cardiac rehabilitation, click on the links below:
National Library of Medicine - English
Mayoclinic - English
National Library of Medicine - Español