Cardiac Rehabilitation
Start Your Journey To Recovery
When you’ve been diagnosed with heart failure, undergone heart surgery, or experienced other heart anomalies, one of the best things you can do is join a cardiac rehab program. It is designed to improve your cardiovascular (heart) health and well-being to help you function as you once did and prevent future heart problems. At Astera Health, our cardiac rehab staff will help you face and understand your heart diagnosis while walking you through a treatment program customized to you, including education and nutrition. You’ll receive the support and information you need to help your heart recover so you can resume the activities and life you love.
Care provided
You may benefit from cardiac rehabilitation if your medical history includes:
- Angioplasty and stents
- Cardiomyopathy
- Certain congenital heart diseases
- Chest pain (angina)
- Coronary artery bypass surgery
- Coronary artery disease
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Heart or lung transplant
- Heart valve repair or replacements
- Peripheral arterial disease
Our dedicated Cardiac Rehab staff:
Andrew Polasek, Clinical Exercise Physiologist
Taylor Kupfer, RN
Other patient services include:
Education
Heredity is a big risk factor for heart disease as well as diabetes, obesity, lifestyle without exercise, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking. In addition to monitored exercise, patients in cardiac rehab learn about their risk factors and what they can do to minimize the risk of additional cardiac issues.
Our staff also educates patients about heart-healthy habits and risk factor modifications. Each patient in cardiac rehab is under medical supervision while exercising. Every patient is unique in their capabilities, therefore cardiac rehab offers personalized and individualized care.
Services and education in our cardiac rehab department comes from a wide range of professionals including a clinical exercise physiologist trained in cardiac rehab and advanced cardiac life support, an Astera Health dietitian, pharmacist, and respiratory therapist. Astera Health also has cardiologists on-site every week at our Wadena Clinic.
Stress Testing
A stress test, sometimes called a treadmill test or exercise test, helps your doctor find out how well your heart handles its workload. As your body works harder during the test, it requires more fuel and your heart has to pump more blood. The test can show if there’s a lack of blood supply through the arteries that go to the heart. Taking a stress test also helps your doctor know the kind and level of physical activity that’s right for you.
Why do people need stress tests?
Doctors use exercise stress tests to find out:
- How hard you should exercise when you are joining a cardiac rehabilitation program or starting an exercise program
- If treatments you have received for heart disease are working.If you need other tests (such as a coronary angiogram) to detect narrowed arteries
- If you have an irregular heartbeat
- If your symptoms (such as chest pain or difficulty breathing) are related to your heart