 |
 |
| |
Growing Importance of Cardiac Rehabilitation
Background
Coronary heart disease continues to be a major health problem. Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease has allowed more individuals to survive a previously fatal cardiac event. As a result, more individuals are suffering from chronic heart conditions, such as angina and congestive heart failure. Because of the aging population and the shift of cardiovascular disease from an acutely fatal event to a chronic disease, there is a growing need for medical services that help patients improve their quality of life, lessen symptoms, increase functional capacity and decrease disability, and through risk factor modification, reduce the risk of subsequent morbidity and morality.
Cardiac rehabilitation services are aimed at patients with established heart disease, especially those who have suffered acute damage to the heart or had surgical procedures carried out on the coronary vessels. The aim of a cardiac rehabilitation programme is to facilitate physical, psychological and emotional recovery and enable patients to achieve and maintain better health. Some patients may require advice and encouragement to achieve a healthy lifestyle, while others have psychological problems which must be addressed.
Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised programme to help heart patients recover quickly and improve their overall physical and mental functioning. The goal is to reduce the risk of another cardiac event or to keep an already present heart condition from getting worse. It is a rehabilitation exercise education and behavioural modification programme designed to improve the physical and emotional condition of patients with heart disease. Cardiac rehabilitation reduces risk of death in people who have heart disease.
Purpose of Cardiac Rehabilitation
Heart attack survivors, bypass and angioplasty patients and individuals with angina, congestive heart failure and heart transplants are all candidates for a cardiac rehabilitation programme. Cardiac rehabilitation is prescribed to control symptoms, improve exercise tolerance and improve the overall quality of life in these patients.
Precautions
A cardiac rehabilitation programme should be implemented and closely monitored by a trained team of professionals.
Cardiac Rehabilitation programmes include:
- Counseling, so that the patient can understand and manage the disease process. A psychologist can help cardiac patients with issues that may be contributing to their heart condition, viz. stress and anxiety. Relaxation techniques may be taught to patients to help them deal with these feelings.
- Education: The patient and family should be fully educated on the physical limitations of the patient, his recommended diet and exercise plan his emotional status and the lifestyle changes required to improve the patient's overall health.
- Beginning an exercise programme. Exercise programmes typically start out slowly, with simple range of motion arm and leg exercises. Walking and stair climbing soon follow. Blood pressure is carefully monitored before and after exercise sessions and patients are taught how to measure their heart rate and evaluate any possible cardiac symptoms during each session.
- Helping the patient modify risk factors, such as high blood pressure, smoking, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes. By improving the plasma lipid and lipoprotein profile with diet, exercise and drug therapy, the patient gets benefited. Those who quit smoking, reduce their risks of another heart attack, sudden death, stroke and total mortality, compared with those who continue to smoke.
- Providing vocational guidance to enable the patient to return to work
- Supplying information on physical limitations
- Lending emotional support
- Diet: Cardiac patients will work with a nutritionist or dietician to develop a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet plan
Benefits of Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme:
- When supervised by a physician, cardiac rehabilitation is helpful to patients with congestive heart failure, angina, recent heart attack, coronary artery bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty or who have had a pacemaker implanted
- Rehabilitation is tailored to each patient's needs. Exercise may be structured, including ECG monitoring. It depends upon the patient's specific heart problem.
- The programme improves functional capacity and quality of life, reduces risk factors and create a sense of well-being.
- Rehabilitation can do a lot to speed your recovery and reduce your chances of future heart problems.
- Recognising heart disease signs and symptoms
- Determining ideal body weight and daily caloric requirement
- Lowering blood cholesterol through good nutrition and physical activity
- Preparing for return to work
- Reducing the risk of a new heart attack through risk factor modification
- Starting a home exercise programme
Cardiac rehabilitation has been well studied and found useful in the following diagnostic categories:
a) Post-myocardial infarction (within 6 months)
b) Post-coronary artery bypass surgery (within 6 months)
c) Post-valve surgery
d) Congestive heart failure and heart transplant
What happens in a cardiac rehabilitation programme?
- Rehabilitation programmes help you change your lifestyle habits.
- During the programme, you will:
a) Exercise using a treadmill, bike, rowing machine or walking/jogging track.
b) Be monitored for a change in symptoms by a nurse .
c) Start slowly, following a safe exercise programme that gradually helps you to become stronger.
d) Gradually move into a more intensive programme
e) Begin strength training if your doctors says you can
f) Have your heart rate, blood pressure and EKG monitored.
After you have completed the programme, you may feel better than even. Make these lifestyle changes a part of your everyday life.
Conclusion
Coronary heart disease can have a large physical and social toll on sufferers. It may result in loss of work, alterations in physical abilities and changes in social and family dynamics. Nurses and other health professionals have a responsibility to help those who survive myocardial infarction to gain the quality of life they had previously or to attain the best quality of life they possibly can. A programme such as cardiac rehabilitation is one way that this may be achieved.
Tamil PDF
|
|
|
|
|