- Dr. Vivek Jawali, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon, Director Fortis Hospitals-Bangalore,
- Rajinish Menon Founder & CEO Sukino Healthcare Pvt Ltd
‘With a healthy heart, the beat goes on’ goes a famous saying. The phrase perfectly depicts why it is never too late to take the health of your heart seriously and make it a priority to enhance your quality of life.
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 17 million people die of cardiovascular diseases, particularly heart attacks and strokes every year. It tops the list as the number one cause of death globally.
Individuals at high risk of CVDs demonstrate raised blood pressure, glucose, and lipid levels. Identifying these individuals and ensuring they received appropriate treatment can significantly bring down these numbers. Supervised and specialized cardiac rehabilitative care can positively improve and restore cardiovascular function, limit disability and minimize the risk factors.
Rehabilitative Cardiac Care
Some of the cardiac diseases in which an individual is recommended to undergo cardiac rehabilitation include angina, angioplasty, myocardial infarction, bypass surgery, cardiomyopathy congenital heart disease, coronary artery disease, heart attack, heart failure, heart transplant, peripheral artery disease, repair or replacement of the heart valve and other revascularization procedures.
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The life of patients suffering from a heart condition completely changes. Patients are not well informed or well equipped to deal with post-trauma heart health care. Customized cardiac rehabilitation ensures a focus on an increase in exercise tolerance and reduction of psychological/physiological stress.
Participation in a cardiac rehab program is one of the best supports a person can get for his/her cardiac health. After any of the said conditions, the patient may feel low in energy, experience fatigue, reduced exercise tolerance, collection of secretions in the lungs, scar tissue formation, low circulation, low oxygen-carrying capacity, low VO2 max, and breathlessness.
Joining cardiac rehabilitation will enable patients to overcome their sickness soon and can enjoy a better quality of life. According to a study, heart patients who opted for cardiac rehabilitation were far less likely to be hospitalized, and had much a better quality of life, than those who did not.
How Can Cardiac Rehabilitative Care Help Patients Return To Normal Life?
Many heart patients in the country are ignorant of the fact that how well Cardiac Rehabilitative Care can help them return to normal lives. It has many benefits such as the strengthening of the heart and body post the attack, relieving symptoms of heart problems, reduce risk of recurrent hospitalization, building healthier habits (increased physical activity, quitting tobacco, healthy diet, less stress), improving psychological health, increase in energy to perform daily activities, prevention of future illnesses, facilitation of quicker recovery and improve quality of life.
Studies have found that cardiac rehabilitation decreases the chance that you will die in the 5 years following a heart attack or bypass surgery by about 35%. It also enhances the management of cardiovascular risk profiles including cholesterol level, blood glucose, triglyceride level, and blood pressure.
There are many misconceptions amongst patients and their family members regarding the physical activity a patient can do post a heart ailment. Cardiac rehabilitative treatment includes physiotherapy for all phases of cardiac care, activities to increase exercise tolerance capacity, muscle strengthening and endurance training for better cardiovascular fitness, treadmill training for targeted heart rate management, bicycle ergometer, thera band, and inspiratory muscle training, exercise prescription based on METS calculation and exercises to increase VO2 max as well as education about lifestyle changes to reduce further heart disease risk.
Age is generally no bar for cardiac rehabilitative as the program is designed considering all the factors relating to an individual including age.
In house experienced dietitian assesses the patients’ nutritional status, refers to medical reports, consults family, takes into account patient preferences, and formulates a specialized low fat, low salt, fluid restricted, moderate protein, and calorie diet to manage obesity, diabetes, and hypertension in cardiac patients.
While caring for the patient’s physical health is important, it is also very imperative to care for the patient’s psychological health. The patient needs to be counselled and educated. This will not only prepare patients up to cope well with their condition but also will guide them to opt for the right rehab program. Psychosocial education keeps patients motivated, reduces their anxiety levels, and helps them cope with their situation. Also, assessment of the patients’ symptoms/condition thoroughly and inclusion of yoga or music sessions to address physical, emotional, and spiritual needs helps in decreasing stress and improving self-esteem.
It is a well-known secret, that digital transformation is disrupting the conventional models of various industries and is now squarely centered on the healthcare industry. Cutting-edge technology tools such as an efficient online system to monitor patients requiring critical care or robotics for intensive physical therapies are being widely used for patients suffering from CVDs.
With the rising number of cardiac patients, there is a need for more structured and comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation centers in our country as well as a need to create awareness for these centers to help these patients cope, overcome and return to normalcy.
At Sukino, we have a full-fledged team. We have senior consultants, experienced therapists of all orders including clinical psychologists and registered dietitians to compassionate caregivers. They are well versed to help patients with Cardiac Rehab We have always believed and practiced that for all-around improvement, a good rehabilitation program goes hand in hand with recuperative care especially post-surgical intervention, and the sheer numbers of our successful rehab cases validate my belief.
