Post Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs

By Dr. Frank J. Scerbo, PT, DPT, CSCS //

What is Cardiac Rehabilitation?

Cardiac rehab is a medically supervised program designed to improve your cardiovascular health if you have experienced a heart attack, heart failure, angioplasty or heart surgery. The main goal of any cardiac rehabilitation program is to lower the likelihood of future heart problems or related death. And like many people who’ve participated in these programs can attest, it can help you feel better physically and emotionally and give you greater control over your health.

At Scerbo Physical Therapy & Sports Rehabilitation our therapists have appropriate training, qualifications, skills, and competencies to practice within their scope of practice and recognize and respect the professional skills of all other disciplines involved in providing comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation.

Through our program, you will learn how to:

• Improve your physical fitness and exercise safely
• Adopt a heart-healthy diet
• Manage other cardiovascular risk factors
• Keep up with and follow your treatment plan
• Focus on your emotional health and the importance of staying engaged socially

People who enroll in our program typically have more success when it comes to controlling other cardiovascular risk factors (for example, high blood pressure or cholesterol). That’s because cardiac rehab programs are comprehensive, focusing on the whole patient and equipping him or her with the tools and information needed to make long-term healthy changes possible.

Post Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs can be lifesaving for many people. It can help to prevent future heart problems, cardiac events, and related deaths. It also can lower their chance of a second heart attack or heart surgery.

Other benefits include:

• Less chest pain and, in some cases, less need for medications to treat it
• Preventing future hospital stays
• Gain strength
• Weight loss, better nutrition, and the know-how to make heart-healthy choices
• Reduced stress and greater emotional well-being

One of the most valuable benefits of cardiac rehabilitation is often an improvement in your overall quality of life. If you stick with your cardiac rehab program, you may come out of the program feeling even better than before you had a heart condition or had heart surgery.

Our physical therapists can help you work through your cardiac problems so you could recover quickly, return to normal daily activities.

Call us at 201-941-2240 or visit our office in Edgewater, NJ to make an appointment.
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