Patients who have had a recent heart attack, coronary artery angioplasty or stents, open heart surgery such as coronary artery bypass graft or heart valve surgery, heart transplant, stable angina and heart failure are cared for in Cardiac Rehabilitation. It includes both cardiac monitored exercise and educational components.

The program is ordered by your health care provider and generally covered by insurance to include three sessions per week for up to 36 sessions in our cardiac rehab department. The goals of the program are to:

• Promote healthy lifestyle changes to manage and prevent heart and vascular risk factors by addressing exercise, nutrition, weight loss, stress management and tobacco cessation.
• Improve strength, exercise tolerance, heart function, blood pressure, cholesterol.
• Improve overall health and quality of life.
• Stabilize or reverse coronary artery disease and reduce the risk of future cardiovascular events and hospital readmissions.
• Enhance mental well-being.
• Provide support network for patient and family.

During rehab, your heart rhythm is assessed through EKG monitoring, while your overall heart rate and blood pressure responses to exercise are monitored carefully to assist with a safe and gradual progression.

Clinical Exercise Physiologists (CEP) work closely with each patient to develop an individualized exercise program based on his/her abilities. During each session your heart rate, blood pressure, heart rhythm, and overall responses to exercise are monitored carefully to allow a safe and gradual progression. Exercise can help to reduce resting heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, body weight, body fat, stress and  increase the capacity for physical activity. Throughout the course of cardiac rehab, educational components are taught to aid patients in understanding their heart disease and risk factor modification. Topics include anatomy/physiology of the heart, exercise principles, diet modification through a nutrition class, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, stress reduction and smoking cessation support. Family members are welcome to attend as group support and encouragement will reinforce the commitment to a heart healthy lifestyle. Appointments are held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Program Benefits

Success in cardiac rehab is based on the individual’s level of participation. From a clinical standpoint, individuals who regularly participate are likely to have a better quality of life and long-term outcome following heart disease.

Financial Considerations

Insurance companies generally cover this program though you may want to check your plan to determine copays or other requirements. If this program is not a covered benefit, we can help you pursue other resources that may be available.

Patient Resources

Check out The Heart Care Channel with various videos aimed at empowering heart and stroke patients to live healthier, longer lives.

 Exercise is Medicine credential

Tomah Health Cardiac Rehab staff is ‘Exercise is Medicine’ credential with the ACSM American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM’s Exercise is Medicine® (EIM) credential is a designation earned by achieving a combination of education and certification that allows staff to provide exercise guidance as an extended member of the health care team. Tomah Health Cardiac Rehab Coordinator Shana Steele, MS, RCEP, CCRP, CSCS, EIM3, said the credential allows staff the opportunity to work effectively with physicians and other health care providers to use exercise and physical activity, in the correct dosage as an effective patient care prescription. 

Supervised Exercise Therapy (SET) for patients with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)

Health care professionals provide an individualized and personalized treatment plan, including evaluation and instruction on physical activity with monitoring of exercise, risk factor modification, nutrition, and other health related areas.

This program involves the use of intermittent walking exercise, which alternates periods of walking to moderate-to-maximum claudication pain, with rest. Up to 36 sessions over a maximum of 12-weeks are covered if all components of a SET program are met.

A face-to-face visit with the physician responsible for PAD treatment to obtain the referral for SET is required. At this visit the beneficiary must receive information regarding cardiovascular disease and PAD risk factor reduction, which could include education, counseling, behavioral interventions and outcomes assessments.

Insurance companies generally cover this program though you may want to check your plan to determine copays or other requirements.

General program goals for all patients include:

• Regular walking exercise program
• Reduced severity of claudication symptoms; improved initial and maximal claudication times (reduce disability)
• Achievement of individual risk factor goals
• Patient understanding of risk factors, behavior change strategies
• Long - term maintenance of health lifestyle
• Improvement in measures of quality of life

Our Cardiac Rehabilitation program is certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR). AACVPR Program Certification is the only peer-review accreditation process designed to review individual programs for adherence to standards and guidelines developed and published by the AACVPR and other professional societies. AACVPR-certified programs are recognized as leaders in the field of cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation because they offer the most advanced practices available.

The American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the mission of reducing morbidity, mortality and disability from cardiovascular and pulmonary disease through education, prevention, rehabilitation, research and disease management. Central to the core mission is improvement in quality of life for patients and their families.

For more information, contact Cardiac Rehab Coordinator Shana Steele, MS, RCEP, CCRP, CES, CSCS   at (608) 377-8354.