Cardiac Rehab:

Following through for your heart’s recovery

John Yurchak, Jr. learns about exercises that will benefit his heart health from Carla Winters, RN, of the Cardiac Rehab team at Lancaster General.

Still, the 67-year-old Lancaster businessman was not immune to heart disease. One day when John’s personal exercise trainer noticed an unusual shortness of breath, he urged John to have his heart checked out.

“My stress test was abnormal and I needed angioplasty,” John says, which was performed at the Lancaster General Heart Center. For John’s procedure, a catheter was used to open a bigger opening in his vessel to increase his blood flow. Four tiny coil stents were used to keep the blocked artery open.

But at the Heart Center, successful treatment doesn’t just end with the procedure. Following through with cardiac rehabilitation is an important part of every heart patient’s recovery.

“When a patient is recovering from a cardiac event, we are here to help them get back to their lives,” says Cindy Hudson, BSN, RN, Clinical Manager for Outpatient Cardiac

Rehabilitation at the Lancaster General Health Campus.

Doctors strongly recommend cardiac rehab for all heart patients. It fills three needs patients have following a heart procedure: Physiological, educational and emotional.

“We treat patients holistically,” Cindy says. “We assist them in making healthy lifestyle changes. And studies show that people who complete a cardiac rehab program do better afterward.”

By your side

Laurie Lewis, BSN, RN   As a Cardiac Rehab nurse, Laurie works with patients who are on the road to recovery following a heart procedure or surgery.   “I help patients understand how rehab will help them get back to things they enjoy, back to work, and back to their lives,” Laurie says.   For 19 years, Laurie has been by your side, striving to uphold Lancaster General's high standard of care and treating everyone she works with like a family member.   “The difference I make in my patients’ lives is what keeps me coming back every day,” Laurie says.

A few weeks after a heart procedure, a patient can start his or her cardiac rehab program, attending two or three sessions a week. The patient works with a registered nurse and an exercise physiologist, who customize an exercise plan for him or her. The patient is monitored throughout his or her entire workout to ensure that goals are met without overdoing it.

Cindy says patients perform aerobic and cardiovascular exercises using a treadmill, stationary bicycle or rowing machine. There are some strength training exercises as well. “Building up muscles to make you stronger helps decrease the stress on the heart,” she says.

While John exercised and stayed active before, he never gave heart health much thought in the exercises he did. “I exercised mostly for golf— I did exercises that would help me improve my swing.”

So during his cardiac rehab, he learned quite a lot about heart healthy exercise.

Cindy says educational classes provided as part of cardiac rehab include sessions on diet, the heart and how it works, spousal support, stress management, risk factors and exercising at home.

“Thanks to the educational classes, I’m more conscious of the importance of anti-oxidants. I eat a lot more fruit now,” John says. John’s wife, Linda, also attended the classes to learn more about what John needed in his diet to stay healthy.

“Fortunately she was already preparing many of the foods that they recommended,” he says. “It reinforced what she was already doing and made us both aware of the better choices we should be making.”

Immediately following his procedure, John was amazed at his improvement. “I had no idea how much my heart problem was slowing me down until I had angioplasty. It really was an eye-opener.”

By following through with his cardiac rehab, John was able to build upon his new lease on life. Ever since his 22 rehab sessions ended and he resumed working out on his own, he says he feels more energetic than he has in years.

“They were nice people who made you feel really good about being there,” John says. “I looked forward to going. And they were watching you closely, so you knew that if there was a problem, they were going to catch it right away.”

John says he saw a number of old friends during his rehab—and made a lot of new friends as well.

Strength training was one of the important parts of cardiac rehab for John Yurchak, Jr. of Lancaster. During his rehab, Carla Winters, RN, of the Cardiac Rehab team at Lancaster General, ensured he was always maintaining a safe level of activity.

“I met a lot of people who had more serious operations—some people in their 30s to my age and older,” he says. “I consider myself fortunate. My condition was caught early and I didn’t require surgery.”

“Lancaster General Cardiac Rehab provides a safe environment for patients,” says Andi Hostetter, RN, BS, Director of Electrophysiology and Pacing Services at the Heart Center. “Healthcare professionals are always there, and we are equipped to handle emergencies.”

Lancaster General’s Cardiac Rehabilitation is certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, and is one of only two certified cardiac rehab programs in Lancaster County. It has been offered at Lancaster General since 1984—shortly after the hospital started performing open heart surgery.

Last year, 300 patients successfully completed cardiac rehab at

Lancaster General.

“Cardiac rehab is part of our comprehensive program to offer quality cardiac care to the community,” Andi says.

“Our goal is to get everyone back to feeling comfortable with their daily activities,” Cindy adds.

• Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation at LGH
• Heart Center
• Health Library: Cardiac Rehabilitation