Cardiac Rehab

Our approach to cardiac rehab

We know it can be overwhelming to start recovery after a heart attack, open-heart surgery or other major cardiac event. The UCI Health cardiac rehab team will help you rebuild your strength and regain your confidence.

Cardiac rehab is a program that combines supervised exercise and education to improve your heart health. Our cardiologists recommend cardiac rehabilitation if you’ve had:

• Heart failure
• Heart attack
• Heart surgery
• Coronary stenting 
• Heart valve replacement or repair
• Other heart conditions

What to expect with cardiac rehab

• Concerns
• Challenges
• Goals
• Lifestyle
• Support system
• Questions

From there, we’ll tailor a cardiac rehab plan to your needs and preferences. You’ll come in for rehab three times a week for one to three months. During your sessions, you’ll meet with your team, do your exercises and work toward your goals. Each session will include EKG monitoring for the duration of exercise.

Throughout your rehab, we’ll also focus heavily on educating you about your heart health and steps you can take to improve it. 

Lowering your risks

Our cardiac rehab program also focuses on helping you reduce your risk for future heart problems. We do this by offering:  

• Smoking cessation programs
• Ways to manage high cholesterol and high blood pressure
• Exercises to safely ease you back into activity
• Stress management techniques
• Nutritional counseling
• Weight management 

Why choose UCI Health for cardiac rehab?

Focus on empowerment

Our goal is to empower you to play an active role in your heart health. And that starts with education. You’ll work with specialists to understand your condition, ways to manage your symptoms and how to improve your health.  

Regular monitoring

One of the most important parts of cardiac rehab is goal setting. We’ll help you set goals — and we’ll monitor your progress along the way. Your dedicated cardiac rehab physician and nurse will review your progress every week. That way, we can help you adjust your plan and connect you with other specialists when you need additional support. 

Stronger recovery 

Research shows that doing cardiac rehab after a major cardiac event can help you reduce your risk of additional heart problems. People who have done our cardiac rehab program report improved quality of life, increased confidence, improved daily function and more. We’ll arm you with the tools and information you need to establish the habits for a healthier future.