Intensive Cardiac Rehab Has Amazing Outcomes

A new type of cardiac rehab offers intensive, hands-on lessons in nutrition, exercise, stress management and group support. Watch as Director of Cardiac Prevention and Wellness, Andrew Freeman, MD, explains the benefits of the program at National Jewish Health and Saint Joseph Hospital, the only program in Denver.

Transcript

I’m pleased to say National Jewish St. Joes will be offering intensive cardiac rehab.

And this is a very different program than the traditional rehab many of us know about.

Many people know that when you have valve surgery, heart surgery, stents, we send people to traditional cardiac rehab and they exercise in a supervised setting for a number of weeks.

Intensive cardiac rehab is a really amazing program that CMS has approved as of 2011.

And what that has shown is that it is a special nine week intensive program, four hours twice a week.

And it’s an hour of nutrition in terms of a plant based diet and a meal is provided.

An hour of exercise.

An hour of stress relief in the form of cardiac yoga.

And an hour of group support.

So the four things that I always talk about that improve health outcomes are now available in this program in a supervised setting for nine weeks.

Those people that go through this have such impressive outcomes that CMS has approved it and wants people to do this regularly.

Visit njhealth.org/cardiology for more information.