Cardiac Rehabilitation

The Cardiac Rehab Team have a wide range of knowledge and skills to deal with all aspects of patient recovery to promote optimal rehabilitation.

Cardiac Rehabilitation

The East Cheshire NHS Trust Cardiac Rehabilitation Team is certified as meeting the BACPR (British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation) and National Audit of CR (NACR) minimum standards.

What is Cardiac Rehab?

The aim of the cardiac rehabilitation programme is to promote your recovery and restore you to as full as life as possible following a diagnosis of coronary heart disease.

Cardiac rehabilitation is generally divided into four phases and each represents a different component of the journey of care.

Which cardiac conditions do we rehab?

The main conditions treated are:

Coronary heart disease and heart valve disease.

You will be invited to attend if you have had:

• Angioplasty
• A heart attack
• Coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG)
• Heart valve replacement
• Other heart surgery

How do we provide the Cardiac Rehab Programme in East Cheshire NHS Trust?

Phase 1
Inpatient service at MDGH

• Early assessment on the ward by team of cardiac rehab specialist nurses
• Written and verbal information provided on recovery after an MI
• Individual plan to manage risk factors through lifestyle changes

If you are admitted to MDGH with a diagnosis of myocardial infarction, angioplasty/stent or heart surgery you will receive a visit on the ward from the cardiac rehabilitation nurse who will discuss/explain your diagnosis with you, and any misconceptions about your diagnosis and recovery can be addressed. An assessment of your cardiac risk factors will be carried out and appropriate lifestyle advice will be given. You will also be given written information to assist your recovery.

If you have not been an inpatient in MDGH, the hospital cardiac rehab team will refer you to us when you are discharged.

Phase 2

After discharge, when you are back at home, you will be contacted by telephone by your cardiac rehabilitation nurse within approximately 7 working days to discuss your recovery and offer support and advice and to talk about your phase 3 programme options.

Phase 3

The aim of this phase is to continue with the promotion of exercise and healthy living advice. We offer a structured programme which includes these elements either in a group session or individually at your home.

This programme includes an individually designed exercise plan consisting of heart strengthening exercises together with a series of health topics covering coronary risk factors and management, symptoms and treatments, healthy eating and weight management, medication, benefits of exercise and barriers to change/psychological support.

This usually starts approximately

• 4-6 weeks following a heart attack
• 6-8 weeks following heart surgery
• 2 weeks following angioplasty/stent

1. Phase 3 Group programmes   

Our group programme starts with an exercise assessment at our outpatient clinic (Macclesfield Hospital). Following your assessment you will attend 6, weekly, group sessions at one of our local leisure centres, these gym based sessions are run by experienced cardiac rehab nursing staff together with fully trained exercise instructors. After your 6 weeks in the gym you attend our outpatient clinic again for a final exercise assessment.

2. Phase 3 Home Based Programme

If you take part in our Home Based Programme you will be allocated to a named physical activity and healthy lifestyle facilitator who will provide a programme for you to do at home and will visit you to monitor your progress.

The Home Based Programme consists of part exercise and part health education. You will receive an individually designed exercise plan to help improve your muscles, heart and circulation. These will be explained and demonstrated safely and are structured to suit your individual needs. Your exercise plan can be amended as you progress.

The number of sessions you will receive is flexible and can be agreed as the programme progresses but is usually around four visits together with interim telephone support contacts.

3. Phase 3 Individual Progression

You can attend one of our outpatient clinics where you will have an exercise assessment and an exercise programme will be discussed for you to follow at home. To follow up we can arrange video consultations or speak on the telephone. At the end of your programme you will attend the outpatient clinic again for a final exercise assessment.

On completion of the Phase 3 programme you will be advised on appropriate options to continue exercising and staying active.

Phase 4 (provided by the Leisure Centre staff)

This is the long term maintenance of your healthier lifestyle. Cardiac rehabilitation isn’t a quick fix and hopefully the advice and support you have received throughout the cardiac rehabilitation process has helped you to make the necessary adjustments to your lifestyle and reduce your risks of further health problems in the future.

Contact details for Cardiac Rehabilitation

Cardiac Rehabilitation
Silk House
Macclesfield District General Hospital
Victoria Road
Macclesfield
Cheshire
SK10 3BL

Telephone

Office: 01625 663083
Hospital Switchboard: 01625 421000         

E-mail
ecn-tr.cardiacrehabilitation@nhs.net