New guidelines developed by the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association emphasize for the first time the importance of participating in a cardiac rehabilitation program after a heart attack or bypass surgery.
The guidelines also recommend that patients with coronary heart disease:
- stop smoking and avoid exposure to tobacco smoke
- get at least 30 minutes of exercise 5-7 days a week
- reduce weight if overweight, obese, or have a large waist
- get an annual flu shot
- take low-dose aspirin daily unless a physician prescribes a higher dose or recommends against it because of medical contraindications
The guidelines are published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association and Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
BMH offers a nationally certified Cardiac Rehabilitation program that combines monitored exercise, education and support to patients that have had a heart attack, stent, coronary bypass, heart valve replacement or stable angina. For more information about our program please visit us on the Cardiac Rehabilitation page.
