Cardiac care is recommended for patients who have suffered from a cardiac event, whether it be a heart attack, a transplant, an angioplasty, congestive heart failure, or another similar ailment. Throughout your care, you will work with a number of healthcare professionals. Doctors and nurses will be the most involved in your care, but you will also work with rehabilitation specialists and physical therapists as well.

Cardiac rehabilitation can be broken down into three different stages. Wondering what they are? Keep reading to learn more. 

Phase 1 Cardiac Rehab

This phase of a patient’s cardiac care begins in the hospital immediately following the cardiac event. Your doctors and nurses will be the first to attend to your needs, but once you’ve been cleared for the next stage, you’ll start seeing an acute physical therapist as well. This therapist will work with your doctors and nurses to develop a plan to help you regain your mobility again. 

The initial goals of cardiac care in its first phase include understanding the effects that limited mobility has on your cardiovascular system, addressing any risk factors that could lead to an additional cardiac event, creating an exercise plan to help improve your mobility, and putting together a safe discharge plan for when you’re reading to leave the hospital.

Phase 2 Cardiac Rehab

You will continue to work with a physical therapist in phase two, but your care will be moved to a skilled nursing facility or other outpatient center. Depending on the severity of your ailment and the progress you make with your specialists, your rehabilitation could take anywhere from three to six weeks. During this time, you will continue to be monitored to ensure this activity isn’t compromising proper healing.

One of the most important aspects of the second phase is that both patient and family will be educated on the types of exercises you should do, as well as how to monitor heart rate and exertion levels. If you are able to be cleared to be more independent, you can move on to phase three of rehabilitation. 

Phase 3 Cardiac Rehab

At this point, you should be more in control of your rehab. You should be knowledgeable about your specific condition, understand all the risk factors, and know what exercises and activities you can do to sustain your health. While this phase requires more independence, there will always be someone you can call for support if you need it.

If you seek cardiac rehabilitation services at Philosophy Care, you will receive access to a team of specialists who have helped hundreds of patients live happy, long, productive lives. Their care team provides cutting-edge treatments and therapies that meet every patient’s unique needs, and they understand the importance of constantly updating family members about progress and addressing any questions or concerns.