Brittainy, Cardiac Rehab was a very helpful. First, of course, it got me into a regular exercise program which is important during recovery. Second, it provided tremendous reassurance that I could exercise vigorously without hurting myself. Quite a number of people who have studied recovery from heart surgery have found that one of the most perplexing problems involves helping patients understand that they are no longer fragile and can once again depend on their bodies after months or years of illness. The monitoring and the gradual increase in activity combine to build your confidence in your own body. Third, it also provides a support group. I was the only one in my group with a valve replacement but everyone else had gone through open heart surgery so we could share experiences. As you know from the way VR works, this sharing of experiences is very helpful in making sense of things that are happening. Fourth, the nurse physiologists who ran my program were a wonderful source of information. All together, my experience was a very good one and I would highly recommend that you plan on attending. Here in Tulsa, one begins these programs between 6 & 8 weeks and they run for 12 weeks (3 days a week). To sum things up, I would say that Cardiac Rehab helps promote a sense of well being.
Larry
