Preventing Heart Problems with Education and Resources

Our entire team works together to educate patients and families about heart and vascular diseases because the more you know about your condition, the more you can help improve your condition. Many aspects of heart and vascular health are within your control through a heart-healthy diet, increased activity and careful monitoring of your numbers. Most people who have undergone heart events or procedures benefit significantly from helpful education and resources about their condition. Understanding personal risk factors for heart disease and making the necessary changes can keep your heart healthy and prevent further problems.

Improving Your Heart Health with Cardiac Rehab

Group workoutThe Skagit Regional Health Heart and Vascular Institute provides a complete cardiac rehabilitation program. Cardiac rehabilitation, often called cardiac rehab, is a medically supervised program that is designed to improve your cardiovascular health if you have had a heart attack, heart failure, angioplasty, heart surgery or vascular surgery.

Our cardiac rehab is a three-phase customized exercise program that teaches you to be more active and to make lifestyle changes that can lead to a stronger heart and better health. It is designed to help patients recover well from both heart or vascular issues and to reduce the risk of future cardiovascular problems.

The three critical components of our cardiac rehab program include:

Part 1: Exercise Counseling and Training

Exercise gets your heart pumping and your entire cardiovascular system working. At the Heather Schols Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, located in the garden level of Skagit Valley Hospital, you will learn how to get your body moving in ways that promote heart health with conditioning, strengthening and flexibility exercises. You’ll also learn about the importance of regular exercise and activity for strengthening your heart, reducing stress, sleeping more soundly and just feeling better overall.

Part 2: Education for Heart-Healthy Living

An important element of cardiac rehab is educating yourself about lifestyle habits you can change to have a healthy heart, including:

  • Learn about heart-healthy diet choices
  • Understand how to manage your heart risk factors
  • Get help to quit smoking
  • Learn more about your heart medicines

Part 3: Counseling to Reduce Stress

Stress hurts your health and your heart. This part of cardiac rehab helps you identify and tackle common sources of stress. We will help you understand how to remove those over which you have control and better manage those outside of your control.

Are You a Candidate for Cardiac Rehab?

Our goal at the Heather Schols Cardiac Rehabilitation Center is to educate patients and their families about heart conditions. You may be a candidate for cardiac rehab if you have had any of the following cardiovascular conditions or treatments:

  • Angina
  • Angioplasty
  • Congestive heart failure
  • Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery
  • Heart attack
  • Coronary artery disease (CAD)
  • Heart procedures or surgery
  • High cholesterol
  • Hypertension
  • Pacemaker
  • Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
  • Stenting
  • Valve replacement
  • Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)

For More Information About Cardiac Rehab

If you would like more information on how our team can help you better manage your recovery from a range of cardiovascular issues, please contact one of our team members or call 360-814-8368. We’re here to help you improve your cardiovascular health at Skagit Regional Health’s Heather Schols Cardiac Rehabilitation Center.