Exercise

The aim of cardiac rehabilitation is to help you to recover and get back to as full a life as possible after a cardiac event such as a heart attack or after having a treatment such as coronary bypass surgery. It also aims to help promote your health and keep you well after you go home from hospital.

Cardiac rehabilitation can be helpful if you have had:

• a heart attack
• a coronary angioplasty
• a coronary bypass surgery or another type of heart surgery
• an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) fitted, or
• a condition with stable heart failure.

Cardiac rehabilitation can also be helpful for people who have other conditions such as stable angina, cardiomyopathy or congenital heart disease.

Our cardiac rehabilitation team can give you information about your condition and about the treatment you have had. They can talk to you about your recovery and getting back to your usual activities, about your lifestyle, and how you can protect your heart in the future.

Our cardiac rehabilitation programmes usually start about four to eight weeks dependent on the procedure you had after you leave hospital. People who follow a cardiac rehabilitation programme do get fitter and recover more quickly. The information and support you get from the programme can help you to make healthy lifestyle choices. Cardiac rehabilitation has been found to reduce the risk of dying from coronary heart disease, and helps reduce some of the risk factors for the disease. The programme usually involves going to a session lasting about one hour, once or twice a week for eight weeks.