Cardiac rehabilitation (rehab) is an important part of your recovery after a cardiac event. It has many long-term benefits as well as helping you get back to as full a life as possible.
Cardiac rehab is a programme of information and education, exercise and relaxation. The programme aims to have a positive impact on wellbeing and quality of life so you can build heart healthy habits.
Who is cardiac rehab for?
Cardiac rehab is for anyone that has had a heart problem. This includes a heart attack, heart surgery, heart arrhythmia or heart failure.
The cardiac rehab service at the Freeman Hospital welcomes everyone with moderate and severe heart problems. And it is completely free!
About us
We are a team of three cardiac rehab specialist nurses. We work alongside physiotherapists that are fun, friendly, welcoming and very approachable.
Our aim is to help and support each individual with their recovery. To allow them to exercise safely and maintain a heart-healthy lifestyle.
When is it on
Our cardiac rehab groups take place twice a week and the programme lasts 8 weeks. However this can be adjusted if sessions are missed or if you feel you could benefit longer. You and your heart is what matters to us!
You are welcome to come along and observe a class, talk to staff and current members, if they feel apprehensive. We know for some it may be the first time they have exercised within a programme.
Monday evening: 6pm– 8pm
Thursday evening: 5.30pm – 7.30pm
Where and what to expect
The cardiac rehab sessions are held within the physiotherapy department at Freeman Hospital.
Doing exercise can be daunting for some. We will make sure that you are supervised with everything tailored to you and your needs.
Likewise, if you have previously enjoyed exercising and/or attended at gym, you will be able to exercise at a pace that feels right for you.
Everything is led and supervised by our team. But it is important to remember that different people recover at very different speeds. Recovery time will depend on age, heart condition and the treatment they had.
At each class we begin with a gentle warm up before the more active exercises begin – which are individually tailored to the patient and their medical history. After we have been active we perform cool down exercises and stretches.
Afterwards we carry out a brief relaxation session. The relaxation techniques are a great aid to manage stress and to use at home.
After we are all nice and relaxed we have refreshments before we begin the weekly educational talk.
Cardiac rehab education
At our Monday class we have educational topics with a different topic discussed each week including:
- What is CHD?
- Diet and healthy eating
- CPR
- Managing stress
- Exercises
- Pharmacy – medication and tablets
- Risk factors
Learning about these topics helps you make lifestyle changes. This is to:
- Improve your quality of life
- Expand your outlook and emotional stability
- Increase your knowledge of the disease and how to manage it.
The education sessions are a perfect opportunity for you to ask questions or raise any concerns you may have – we are always happy to help!
Cardiac rehab classes allow you to meet others that have had similar experiences. This is an opportunity for you to help and support each other.
However, something that we pride ourselves on is our emotional support. This enables members to relieve stress and improve confidence and mental health.
We value our patients more than anything and hope that you can attend and enjoy our fun friendly group. If you have any questions, you can contact the cardiac rehab team on 0191 223 1399.
Exercising at home
The British Heart foundation have produced some exercise videos which are designed to be used in the comfort of your own home.
You should only use them if you have received a cardiac rehab assessment at Phase 2 and/or started or completed a cardiac rehab programme.
British Heart Foundation – Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Videos
