If I have had a heart attack, is it important that I undergo cardiac rehabilitation? What is it for?
Cardiac rehabilitation is a very important discipline in the treatment of heart diseases, although many are unaware of its many advantages, it should be offered to all patients who have suffered not only a heart attack, but also those who have suffered angina and have required catheterization with the implantation of 1 or more stents (devices to open and restore blood flow in blocked coronary arteries). Other patients who will also obtain multiple benefits are those with heart failure of any cause and who have a reduced functional capacity due to the disease and/or the loss of physical fitness due to multiple admissions and the inactivity that often accompanies these patients. . We must emphasize that the more fatigue or less capacity the patient has, the greater the benefit obtained. Heart surgery, congenital diseases, patients with arrhythmias and in general any heart disease can benefit from this comprehensive program.
Cardiac rehabilitation is the set of measures and actions so that patients can recover the maximum physical and mental possibilities and a normal social, family and professional life. It includes training with exercises that must combine aerobic and strength or resistance, modification of cardiovascular risk factors, and psychological and social evaluation. In multiple clinical trials it has been shown to reduce mortality in coronary heart disease in patients after a heart attack.
In the past, heart disease was associated with people who should not do physical exercise, today it is proven that they should not be at rest but should do physical exercise on a regular basis, of course directed and coordinated by a program and a doctor with knowledge. of cardiac rehabilitation, this translates into changes and improvements at the level of the heart, lungs, muscles and therefore improvement in the quality of life in the vast majority of patients.
The recommended frequency of aerobic exercise is 3 to 5 days a week, preferably daily, for 20 to 60 minutes a day, with a progressive increase in intensity according to medical guidelines.
Exercise interventions should only be started in clinically stable patients, once medical treatment for heart failure (if present) has been optimized.
The main benefits of cardiac rehabilitation are: Improved quality of life and feeling of fatigue, with lower mortality and hospitalization rates.
Therefore, patients with a heart attack or any heart disease can benefit from this program.
By Dr. Abraham López Ricardo, head of the Cardiovascular Prevention, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Cardio-Oncology Unit