Rehab
Our primary goal is our patients’ health and independence. This includes teaching the skills for self-monitoring activity and taking personal responsibility for reducing coronary risk factors. Mohawk Valley Heart Institute has met the rigorous requirements of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and has been nationally certified since 2002.
Cardiac rehabilitation is the process we go through, together with our patients who have had heart disease, to restore and maintain their best physical, psychological, social, vocational, and emotional condition. Studies have shown that cardiac rehabilitation provides a risk-reduction benefit similar to that of statin drugs, beta-blockers and aspirin.
The Mohawk Valley Heart Institute offers our patients a comprehensive program to help them recover as quickly as possible from a heart attack or treatment for a cardiac problem. Our program is completely physician-prescribed, and close communication between the patient and physician is maintained at all times. This process begins in the hospital at the patient’s bedside, as soon as the patient is stabilized following a cardiac event. Throughout Cardiac Rehabilitation, we help the patient gradually increase activity, and educate the patient and his or her family to learn basic self-monitoring.
Once the patient returns home, he or she is enrolled in the outpatient phase of cardiac rehabilitation, ideally within two weeks after discharge from the hospital. Early enrollment helps the patient remain proactive and speeds recovery. The patient visits the Outpatient Cardiac Rehab Center, at the Faxton Campus of Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare, three times a week to be carefully supervised by a team of cardiac nurses and exercise physiologists.
This program is comprehensive, and begins with setting goals to help the patient get back to work and perform other activities through safe and effective exercise. Patients then learn to identify and manage coronary risk factors, and work to restore their sense of emotional and social well-being.
After achieving these initial goals, the patient may choose to continue to work on best health practices with minimal supervision from the Cardiac Rehabilitation Center. If, after “graduating” from the program, the patient prefers to exercise at home or in a community setting (such as a local fitness center), he or she may also choose to schedule follow-up visits with our staff. These periodic check-ups are one-on-one visits, allowing us to monitor the progress of home exercise, risk factor management and behavioral changes for optimal long-term health.
Please call the Cardiac Rehabilitation Center at (315) 624-5335 to learn more.