When you’ve been diagnosed with a heart condition it’s natural to need time to come to terms with what has
happened to you and how your everyday life may be affected.
Cardiac rehabilitation is a programme of exercise and information sessions to help you get back
on your feet again after a heart attack, heart surgery or procedure. It helps you to:
understand your condition
recover from your surgery, procedure or heart attack
make changes to your lifestyle that will help improve your heart health
reduce the risk of further heart problems.
Cardiac rehabilitation is available to anyone who has had:
a heart attack
a coronary angioplasty
heart surgery
those who have angina or heart failure
thosewho have an ICD implanted.
Cardiac rehabilitation starts as soon as you go into hospital for heart surgery or treatment,
or after you’ve had a heart attack.
A member of the cardiac rehabilitation team will normally visit you on the ward to provide you
with information about your condition, the treatment you’ve had and your recovery. This will help
you get back to your usual activities as soon as possible.
You should also be invited to join a cardiac rehabilitation programme starting about four to eight
weeks after you leave hospital.
