Personalizing Heart and Lung Rehab for your Needs

St. Vincent’s Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation program in Jacksonville helps our patients return to their normal rhythm of life after a heart surgery or recovery from a lung disease. Your rehab plan is personalized for you. We provide a well-rounded education about heart health and lung function. We want you to have the tools you need to regain a better quality of life.

The Right Kind of Exercise for your Heart

After surgery, your heart muscles and the coronary arteries need time to recover. Your heart doctor may recommend cardiac rehabilitation. Our team, including cardiac nurse educators and exercise specialists trained in heart muscle rehabilitation, will give you a step-wise approach to rehabbing your heart muscle safely.

You may be a candidate for cardiac rehab if you have coronary artery disease or have experienced any of the following:

• Coronary Stent Placement
• Atherectomy
• Heart Attack
• Angina
• Recent Coronary Bypass Surgery
• Balloon Angioplasty

You’ll learn how to take charge of your heart health, gradually building strength and stamina. Our team teaches you how the heart works and shares healthy diet and lifestyle tips. We also give you stress management tools. We create exercise sessions specifically for your heart health goals and communicate progress to your doctor.

Improving Lung Function

Pulmonary rehabilitation is an 8-week education and therapy program for adults with chronic lung diseases:

• Asthma
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) -- emphysema and chronic bronchitis
• Restrictive lung diseases -- pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis and interstitial lung disease

For information or to register for an upcoming session, call 904-308-7560. A doctor’s referral is needed to participate, and for most health insurance plans, pulmonary rehab a covered benefit. Each session is two hours and includes education and therapeutic exercises. You will learn about:

• Lung function
• Your specific lung disease
• Breathing effectively
• Developing a home exercise program
• Proper use and care of respiratory equipment
• Getting rid of excess mucous
• Your specific medications
• Following a well-balanced diet
• Relaxation techniques and dealing with stress
• When to call the doctor

Our team approach includes working with nurses, respiratory therapists, exercise specialists, pharmacists, social workers and dietitians. Using this approach benefits patients in many ways:

• Decrease in respiratory symptoms
• Improvement in exercise capacity
• Reduced frequency of hospitalization
• Improvement in ability to perform day-to-day activities
• Improved quality of life