Cardiac Rehabilitation at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center
The Art of Healing the Body, Mind and Spirit

Maybe a trip to the gym for a good workout isn’t what you had in mind after being told you have heart disease,surviving a heart attack or undergoing heart surgery. But in many cases, a medically supervised cardiac rehabilitation program, or cardiac rehab, is just what the doctor ordered. Cardiac rehab is an individualized, step-by-step program designed to get your heart back in shape and improve the overall quality of your life. By helping you to build your strength and endurance, the program safely and effectively helps you to overcome some of the physical complications of certain types of heart disease and reduces your risk for developing additional heart problems. Before you know it, you’ll have the confidence to engage in an active social life or work schedule. The program ultimately helps you to live a longer, fuller life.

A unique problem requires a unique solution.
At Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, your cardiac rehab program will be individually designed to appropriately support your specific needs. The best plan for someone who has recently experienced a heart attack is not necessarily the best plan for someone who’s recovering from open heart surgery. Whether you’re a victim of a heart attack, have been diagnosed with coronary artery disease, angina or congestive heart failure, or have recently undergone angioplasty, bypass surgery or valve replacement, our multi-disciplinary team of cardiac rehab specialists will develop a unique solution that recognizes your individual problem and your distinctive personality.

Improving your health, step by step.
From the beginning, our team of cardiac rehab specialists — which includes registered nurses, exercise physiologists and a registered dietitian/certified diabetic educator — will collaborate with your physician to evaluate your needs and design a program especially for you. This process includes:

A medical evaluation, to assess your physical abilities, medical limitations, other relevant conditions and psychosocial needs.
A supervised exercise program, with medical supervision and monitoring of your heart rate and blood pressure. Exercise is extremely important because it increases blood flow to your heart and strengthens your heart's contractions so that it pumps more blood with less effort. Exercise can also help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight and control diabetes, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. Other benefits include reduced stress and increased energy.
Lifestyle education, to help you improve your overall health and reduce your risk of experiencing another life-threatening event, such as heart attack or stroke. Our registered dietitian will help you create a healthy eating plan and teach you about managing dietary fats, sodium, and cholesterol. If you need to lose weight, our Smarter Weigh program will provide you with tools to help you shed pounds, such as diet and exercise counseling, weekly lectures and exercise classes. If you smoke, our Freedom from Smoking program will provide counseling to help you quit.
Psychosocial support, to help you cope with anxiety or depression that may result from your condition or illness. You may benefit from our monthly cardiac support group facilitated by a registered nurse, or our education series that deals with the issues of stress management and other psychosocial concerns of cardiac patients and their family members.

In order to satisfy the unique needs of each of our patients, our cardiac rehab and fitness programs and services may be recommended by your physician in a variety of phases.

Phase I: In the Hospital. Your cardiac rehabilitation will begin soon after your heart attack or cardiac procedure, while you're still in the hospital. The team contributing to your care will include your physician, cardiac rehabilitation nurse educators, staff nurses, dietitians and physical therapists. Your team will initially ask you to perform simple activities such as sitting up in bed, range-of-motion exercises and self-care. You will gradually progress to walking around and limited stair climbing.
Phase II: Early Recovery. When you leave the hospital, you will need to gradually increase your general activity level, usually under close supervision three times per week for approximately 12 weeks. During this time, you will receive an intensive risk factor modification program composed of telemetry monitored exercise, weekly education lectures, dietary counseling. You will also learn about smoking cessation, psychological adjustments and finding social support. Participation requires approval from your physician and your insurance company.
Phase III: Cardiac Maintenance. The Cardiac Maintenance program is available for graduates of Phase II who wish to continue exercising in a medically supervised setting as well as those who have a history of cardiac disease. The cardiac rehab team will provide weekly blood pressure checks and electrocardiograms (EKGs). Glucose (blood sugar) monitoring will also be provided as needed. The cardiac rehab team will also continue to educate you about nutrition, lifestyle and weight loss. Members may participate in the Cardiac Maintenance program indefinitely. Participation requires approval from your physician.
Phase IV: Community Fitness. The Cardiac Rehabilitation & Fitness Center offers exercise and wellness programs for those without heart disease who have made a lifelong commitment to health. Typically, you will not need regular heart monitoring or medical or nursing supervision while exercising. However, blood pressure, EKG and glucose monitoring will be provided as needed. Consultations with a registered dietitian are also included. The Smarter Weigh and Freedom From Smoking programs will continue to be valuable resources to support your weight loss and smoking cessation goals. Members may participate in the Community Fitness program indefinitely. Participation may require approval from your physician.

For more information, please contact:
Providence Saint Joseph, Cardiac Rehabilitation & Fitness Center
3413 Pacific Avenue, Suite 202, Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 953-4494