Cardiac Rehabilitation / Secondary Prevention Programs

A cardiac rehabilitation program is designed to help patients with heart disease recover faster and return to full and productive lives. Programs include exercise, education, counseling, and learning ways to live a healthier life. 

You can benefit from cardiac rehab if you:

• Have heart disease, such as angina or heart failure, or have had a heart attack. 

• Have had coronary bypass surgery 

• Have had an angioplasty or angioplasty with stent to one or more coronary arteries (PCI) 

• Have had a heart valve repaired or replaced 

• Have had a heart transplant

Cardiac rehab is a safe and effective way to help you feel better faster, get stronger, reduce stress, reduce the risks of future heart problems, and live longer. Almost everyone with heart disease can benefit from some type of cardiac rehab program. Nobody is too old or too young, and women benefit as much as men. Components of a comprehensive program include exercise training, nutritional counseling, smoking cessation counseling, and stress management. Education on symptom management, medications, and lifestyle changes are included.
Controlling your risk factors for heart disease can help you lead a healthier life, but your cardiac rehab program needs to be designed for your needs. Make sure your cardiac rehab program works for you. Work with your health care team to design or change services to get the most out of your program. Be sure to ask questions. If you don't understand the answers, keep asking until you do. It is important to report changes in your feelings or symptoms in order to reduce your risk for future heart problems.

Take charge of your recovery! No one else can do it for you. The instruction and guidance you receive from your cardiac rehab team will give you the confidence you need to take control.

For a list of Cardiac Rehabilitation programs in Iowa, check our program directory. For more information and resources about Cardiac Rehabilitation, check out the AACVPR website.