This week is Cardiac Rehabilitation Week, which aims to raise awareness about the importance of cardiac rehabilitation for individuals recovering from heart disease or experiencing heart failure.
Angie Warneke, RN BSN who works with the cardiac rehab team at Franklin General Hospital tells RadioOnTheGo News there are many things her team can do to help someone recovering from a heart-related issue.
“We help learn a heart healthy diet, low fat, low sodium diet. You’ll see a dietician while you’re here. We work with your medications and make sure you understand them. You’ll see a pharmacist while you’re here. And then also we will monitor and supervise your exercise and make sure your heart can tolerate. We’ll start out at a low level of exercise and as you progress, make sure that we’re progressing safely.”
Warneke says one way to improve your cardiovascular health is to avoid certain foods.
“Yes, you want to avoid sugars. You want to avoid a lot of the saturated fats. So animal fats and a lot of the sugary foods we would want to avoid. We’d want you to stick with a high protein, low sodium, low fat, low salt diet.”
Warneke says regular exercise is another easy way to keep your heart healthy.
“They recommend you to have 30 to 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise five to six times a week is the guidelines. So that would be like the treadmill, walking, the bike. It’s also good. And we try to incorporate some weights, but the best way to do this is to do your cardio.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the number one cause of death among men and women is heart disease which claims approximately one million lives per year.
