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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017 D5
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Cardiac rehab helps change risk factors Saint Francis program ofers encouragement and results
S
usan Bonner has been helping people heal from their broken hearts for 40 years. Cardiac care has been her specialty since 1976. She is clinical manager at the Heart Hospital at Saint Francis and manages the Cardiac Rehabilitation program. That means she likely won’t be the irst person you see if you enter the hospital at 61st and Yale with chest pains or shortness of breath. And you won’t ind her standing over you during emergency heart surgery. But if you are admitted into the Heart Hospital, then you ought to be grateful when she or someone on her team comes by to introduce themselves. It means you have received a “wake-up call” and been given another chance at life. Bonner knows the wide range of responses from patients who have survived a heart incident. They go through the stages of grief, including denial. “How could this happen to me?” they might ask. Others may take a diferent approach and igure that since they lived “through it” that they can continue their same lifestyle without changing any of the risk factors that led them there. Bonner and her staf counsel these patients and help them work through their initial emotions, whatever those might be. That’s the beginning of a rehabilitation process. “Cardiac rehab is not just a ‘nice thing to do’ after a heart event,” Bonner says. “It’s the best thing you can do.” Bonner says the most important thing is helping heart patients understand “we don’t have a cure for heart disease. There’s no pill to prevent it.” But patients can reduce their risks of another heart problem occurring and live long, full lives. Cardiac rehabilitation involves three distinctive phases. The irst phase occurs during the patient’s hospital stay. That’s when the cardiac rehabilitation process is explained. Phase two involves the immediate period after being discharged from the hospital. The cardiac rehabilitation team puts together a customized plan of action, using a holistic approach of exercise specialists, dieticians and counselors. “You can’t prescribe the same script for everyone to follow,” Bonner says. “It doesn’t work that way for everybody.” Each patient is unique. Patients typically schedule visits to the Heart Hospital three times a week for up to three months to exercise in a specialized cardiac workout room. “We put them on a heart monitor and watch them while they exercise,” Bonner says. The third phase is continued maintenance. “This is when we help them think
“Cardiac rehab is not just
a ‘nice thing to do’ after a heart event. It’s the best thing you can do.”
Susan Bonner, clinical manager at the Heart Hospital at Saint Francis and manager of the Cardiac Rehabilitation program, helps patients make lifestyle changes so they can better recover. Photo courtesy of Saint Francis ahead to their long-term care,” Bonner says. Patients are encouraged to make lifestyle changes that involve exercise, proper nutrition, a reduction in stress and other things. The ultimate goal is for patients to create a consistency in continuing to do these on a daily basis. Bonner says many people start out right but then give up, especially when they skip a day of exercise or eat something unhealthy. It’s OK. They just need to pick up the habit again the next day. “We have a lot of work to do here in Oklahoma,” Bonner says. “Oklahoma is always among the top three states annually in coronary heart disease.” And that’s what Bonner hopes she and her staf can help change. Staying active is the key, she says. People need to engage in 30 minutes of physical activities per day. It doesn’t even have to be exercising in a gym and getting all sweaty, Bonner explains. The activity needs to elevate the person’s heart rate and get the
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muscles and bones moving. It could be two 15-minute walks – one in the morning, and the other later in the same day. “You don’t have to be at an extreme level of exercise to get the beneit,” Bonner adds. She recalls a former cardiac patient who began his rehabilitation unable to do much of any exercise. He moved around using an electric scooter because he had orthopedic problems that made it diicult to walk even a few steps. But the man lost some weight, got stronger and started walking slowly on a treadmill. That allowed him to get strong enough to have orthopedic surgery. Afterward, he was able to walk more, exercise more and eventually he was able to drive a motor vehicle again. “Those are the kind of stories we love,” Bonner says. They show that every patient can be helped, no matter where they start.