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What is cardiac rehabilitation?

The aim of cardiac rehabilitation is to increase physical fitness and improve the prognosis of cardiovascular disease by regular exercise combined with blood pressure control, blood glucose control, smoking cessation and weight control.

Regular exercise can improve the physical fitness of patients with heart disease, reduce the symptoms caused by heart disease, and ease the anxiety and depression triggered by heart disease. In addition, in the long run, exercise can improve the type of fat in the blood, help control the weight, and lower the death rate of cardiovascular disease by 25%. If combined with blood pressure control, blood glucose control, smoking cessation, weight control, etc., it can prevent the recurrence of cardiovascular disease.

Cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training monitored by professionals

Patients often have many questions about how to exercise: "Doctors and nurses have repeatedly told me that I must exercise regularly, but what exercise can I do that is good for my heart? How can I do it effectively? Won't exercise put my heart at risk?”

If the intensity of exercise is not enough, it will not be able to enhance physical fitness and reduce symptoms, but strenuous exercise may put considerable strain on an already ailing heart. Therefore, if exercise is not done properly, it may be ineffective, and may also cause harm to the heart! For patients with all kinds of heart diseases who have received surgery or cardiac catheterization, it is best to receive a cardiac rehabilitation exercise program at an outpatient clinic in the physical medicine & rehabilitation department of the hospital at the time of discharge.

Benefits of cardiac rehabilitation

1. Rehabilitation doctors and therapists will, according to your special condition, tell you exactly what kind of exercise is suitable for you, how much exercise is safe and effective, and step by step teach you how to do these exercises correctly.
2. When necessary, the doctor will arrange a "cardiopulmonary exercise testing" for you. With this kind of scientific evaluation method, you can more accurately understand your ability to engage in physical activity. At the same time, all kinds of symptoms and signs under different exercise intensity will be recorded, so that the doctor can customize your work-out plan without much effort.
3. When you are doing exercise in the hospital, there are professionals and all kinds of monitoring instruments in place to closely monitor your heart condition before, during and after exercise, so that any unstable state in your heart can be detected as early as possible, so as to reduce the probability of various complications caused by exercise, and also help clarify your doubts about "whether exercise is safe" through such monitoring.
4. During exercise training, professional staff will teach you to experience all kinds of changes in your body, and gradually let you learn how to do exercise properly without the monitoring of instruments or professional staff at home, and be able to more clearly understand the changes and reactions of your body during the workout.
5. Not only will you need to keep a detailed exercise record when you are doing a workout in the rehabilitation department, but our professional staff will also teach you to record your exercise and symptom changes from time to time as a reference for your cardiologist or surgeon to understand the latest changes in your heart condition.

Home rehabilitation

In case it is inconvenient for you to go to the hospital frequently because of the long journey or busy work, what should be paid attention to when exercising at home? Here are some simple principles for you, such as:

• A warm-up and cool-down should be done carefully to prevent unnecessary sports injuries.
• Avoid sudden stops during intense exercise, which can cause arrhythmias or other heart problems.
• Stop the workout gradually in case of any discomfort during exercise
• Within one month after myocardial infarction, if the intensity of exercise is based on the heart rate, it is suggested that the maximum heart rate should not exceed the resting heart rate plus 20 beats per minute.
• Within one month after coronary artery bypass surgery, if the intensity of exercise is based on the heart rate, it is suggested that the maximum heart rate should not exceed the resting heart rate plus 30 beats per minute.
• When the physical condition is not good, exercise can be done by following the principle of "light weight, with several small meals a day" to achieve the effect of exercise training.
• The proper intensity of exercise can make you feel "a little tired, but not too tired," a little sweaty, a little tired, and feel comfortable and happy because of the exercise.

However, these principles can't take into consideration the special conditions of every patient. Moreover, you may find it hard to understand after looking at these abstract tips: what is "a little tired, but not too tired"? How do you monitor your heart rate during exercise? How can a warm-up and cool-down work? These important things about proper exercise can vary greatly from patient to patient. Therefore, we suggest that you spare some time to participate in the cardiac rehabilitation program for a few weeks, so that you can gradually learn the skills and knowledge of proper exercise under professional guidance, and that you can follow the standards for long-term exercise in the future for the sake of the safety and effect of exercise.

Tips for low-intensity exercise at home

Do low-intensity exercise at home within 6 weeks of myocardial infarction, within 1 month of heart surgery or bypass, or if you have a heart failure. Here are some things you need to pay attention to when engaging in low-intensity exercise at home. Please read them carefully so that you can engage in exercise more safely and effectively!

1. Which mild exercises are better?

A: At present, it is advisable to take a walk and climb the stairs easily and slowly (no more than 2 floors of stairs). If you have a surgery wound in your chest, you should easily perform a physician-directed shoulder movement within a less painful area, at least twice a day.

2. How long should your workout last each time?

A: Do what you can! If you can only walk for less than 10 minutes at a time, you'd better walk twice a day.

Reference table

3. Is it necessary to strictly meet the walking duration and distance in the table?

A: Not necessary! You can use this table as a reference, but you don't need to use it as a goal you have to go all out to achieve.

4. How fast should I walk?

A:  In principle, don't walk so hard that you feel uncomfortable. In the first 2 weeks, your heart rate should not exceed the "resting heart rate + 30 beats" After 2 weeks, you can gradually increase your walking speed, but you don't need to walk to the extent of feeling like “your heart is pumping hard.”

5. How should you feel when walking?

A: Generally, walk to the point of "a little tired but not too tired." You may be slightly sweaty, feel slightly tired, but overall, comfortable and pleasant because of exercise. If you feel tired from walking and have discomfort such as shortness of breath, sore legs, tiredness, sweating too much, you need to slow down.

6. If you stop because of chest pain or fatigue, should you continue walking after the break?

A: You can't walk to this level of discomfort! If this happens, you need to slow down your walking speed or reduce the length of your walking time until you can walk continuously without uncomfortable symptoms.