The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 26, Number 7 | Page 25

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | March 2020
Healthy Living Tips from
How to Regain Control after a Heart Attack
You do not have to give up your life after a heart attack. Devastating as it may be, after a heart attack is an
opportunity to get your lifestyle “back on track.”
John Hill, Vice President, Pulmonary Service Line and Clinical Ancillary Services at Deborah Heart and Lung Center,
urges patients to follow a cardiac rehabilitation program after having a heart attack.
“Cardiac rehab is a medically supervised program,” he said “and is individualized for each person. It consists of
exercise training, as well as education and counseling about heart-healthy living. In fact, in addition to heart attacks,
the American Heart Association recommends cardiac rehab for heart conditions like coronary artery disease, angina
or heart failure, and after a heart procedure or surgery, including bypass surgery, angioplasty and stenting, valve
replacement, or a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator.”
Steps to Better Health
A cardiac rehab program is designed to help patients recover more quickly and can even help reduce the risk of a
future cardiac event by slowing, or in some cases, reversing the progression of cardiovascular disease. It helps you
regain control of your health after a heart attack. It’s not always easy, but it can make you feel better and can help
you make the transition back to a healthier more active life.
What Can I Expect?
Cardiac rehab will give you an opportunity to begin a regular exercise program, under the watchful eye of cardiac
rehab specialists. This team, in addition to creating a specialized program for you, can provide education and
counseling about living a more heart-healthy life. Understanding what contributed to your heart attack – uncontrolled
high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle – will help to prevent it from happening again.
Usually broken up into one-hour classes spread out over 36 sessions, cardiac rehab combines upright and recumbent
bikes, treadmills, machines for circular upper arm exercise, equipment for lateral stability moves, steppers, circuit
machines, and free weights. Depending on your situation, the exercises can be performed with or without oxygen
support.
“If you have had a heart attack,” added Hill “cardiac rehab is a must to getting you back on the road to good health.”
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