|
A Double
Dose of Cardiac Rehab
 At
the age of 64, Larry Miller has been through cardiac
rehabilitation at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute
twice. Not because it didn’t work – but because it
worked so well.
In January of 2007, Larry
Miller started having episodes and went to see his
family physician. “In my gut, I knew I would need heart
surgery,” said Larry. “So, I focused on what I could
control and getting the best care possible.” After being
referred to a cardiologist, he had 3 stents put in and
was referred to St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute in
Spokane for cardiac rehabilitation.
“At the time, I was in bad
shape, and they got me walking again. I am an all out
kind of guy and they taught me that pushing it was not
helping me. They explained to me how to really exercise
my heart; I don’t think many people know how to do
that.”
While his rehab was going
well and Larry was learning how to take care of his
heart, there were still more challenges to face. One
night he had an episode and ended up in the emergency
room. He had an angioplasty procedure that week and was
told he would need open heart surgery.
“Before surgery, I was
walking 10 laps a day in the hospital. The lessons I had
learned in rehab were helping me gauge how I was doing
and listen to my body. I truly believe that my first
rehab was essential for my surgery. I went in with no
fear, I knew that my heart was in the best shape it
could be for the situation going into surgery, and I
knew they would be there for me when I got out.”
After surgery, Larry
requested that both his family physician and his
cardiologist refer him back to St. Luke’s for rehab. “I
knew I needed guided heart exercise so I wouldn’t overdo
it. I needed to continue to learn how to listen to my
body and not ignore the pain.”
Larry has now been released
from rehab and is on the way to recovery. “I feel
blessed to have had this very caring, very
compassionate, tremendous group of people take care of
me. They not only taught me how to exercise and enjoy
supervised cardiovascular exercise, but they also
provided education and materials to help me with a
holistic approach to my recovery including diet and the
emotional aspects. I am grateful they are here.”
Patients need a physician
referral to participate in the cardiac and pulmonary
rehabilitation programs at St. Luke’s. Both are
medically-monitored exercise and education program,
emphasizing disease prevention and management, education
and support. In addition physical therapy, certified
dietitian and psychology services are available when
indicated.
Each case is individually
evaluated. A home program is available for some patients
after an interval of attending classes in Spokane making
it more convenient to continue toward improvement and
prevention of further cardiovascular problems. For
further information call (509) 473-6013 or visit
www.st-lukes.org.
Table of
Contents ♦
Next
- C Is For Community |
