February 8-14 is National Cardiac Rehab Week: Cardiac Rehabilitation at VMH—A Highly Utilized Local Service (Part I)

Veterans Memorial Hospital began its own Cardiac Rehabilitation unit over three decades ago to help fulfill a need in the community—a need that has been and continues to be well utilized.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Half a million people die each year due to this disease. Many people develop symptoms of heart disease when they are in their 40’s or 50’s, interrupting a most productive time of life. Cardiac Rehabilitation is an important tool in the fight against heart disease. Rehabilitation involves monitored exercise, nutritional counseling, emotional support and education about lifestyle changes to reduce risks of heart problems.

            Cardiac Rehabilitation is designed to help patients improve their health and recover from a heart attack, surgery to treat heart disease or to help manage other forms of heart disease.  Patients are referred to Cardiac Rehabilitation by their physician following one of these events. The goal of Cardiac Rehabilitation is to develop an individualized plan for regaining strength, managing heart conditions, reducing risk of future health problems and improving overall health and quality of life. Cardiac Rehabilitation is designed for outpatients who travel to the hospital three times per week for a one-hour session of supervised, monitored exercise and education sessions.

Cardiac Rehabilitation nurses Diann Weymiller, RN, and Morgan Walther, RN, oversee individualized cardiac rehabilitation programs for their patients at Veterans Memorial Hospital.

The heart needs to exercise in order to regain strength following the cardiac event, but patients need close supervision due to the heart’s delicate condition. In Cardiac Rehabilitation, the patient’s heart is continually monitored by a telemetry unit that traces the heart’s activity. The nurses supervise each session documenting all activity, checking blood pressures, measuring improvement and patient’s response to activity.

A Cardiac Rehabilitation program is essential for the fullest recovery of a victim of a heart disorder. Again this year, many new patients were referred to the Veterans Memorial Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation program. VMH averages over 40 new patients each year. These patients come from Allamakee, Clayton, Winneshiek and Fayette counties, and sometimes even further. Without this local Cardiac Rehabilitation program at Veterans Memorial Hospital, many heart patients would need to travel a great distance, three times per week to attend another program, or go without proper rehabilitation.

“I was on the surgery table, ready to be put under for a shoulder replacement and the anesthesiologist noticed I had a heart issue and cancelled surgery immediately.  I was referred to cardiology and they fast tracked me through the steps to be scheduled for surgery for heart valve replacement a few weeks later,” explains Cardiac Rehab patient, Sigurd Ness of Waterville.  “The crazy thing is I had no idea I had any problem—I had no pain and no shortness of breath.  If the surgeon wouldn’t have found it, I probably would have had a big heart attack.”

“Following surgery, they asked where I wanted to go for my Cardiac Rehab and I demanded to go here!” adds Sigurd.  “They are the most knowledgeable staff and the best rehab all around the area.  They make you reach your goals and work hard to get you there.  I will soon have my shoulder surgery and plan to return here right away for therapy on my shoulder.  I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”