Cardiac Rehabilitation

           Cardiac rehabilitation (rehab) is a medically supervised program that helps improve the health and well-being of people who have heart problems.

Rehab programs include exercise training, education on heart- healthy living, and counseling to reduce stress and help you return to an active life.

Cardiac rehab helps people who have heart problems do the following:

• Recover after a heart attack or heart surgery

• Prevent future hospital stays, heart problems, and death related to heart problems

• Address risk factors that lead to coronary heart disease (also called coronary artery disease) and other heart problems

• Adopt healthy lifestyle changes

• Improve their health and quality of life

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Heart Valve Surgery

“Heart valve surgery,” © 2009 A.D.A.M., Inc.

Reprinted with permission.

Heart valve surgery is used to repair or replace diseased heart valves.

Description

There are four valves in your heart:

1. Aortic valve

2. Mitral valve

3. Tricuspid valve

4. Pulmonary valve

The valves control the direction of blood flow through your heart. The opening and closing of the heart valves produce the sound of the heartbeat. Heart valve surgery is open-heart surgery that is done while you are under general anesthesia. A cut is made through the breast bone (sternum). Your blood is routed away from your heart to a heart-lung bypass machine. This machine keeps the blood circulating while your heart is being operated on.

Valves may be repaired or replaced. Replacement heart valves are either natural (biologic) or artificial (mechanical):

• Natural valves are from human donors (cadavers).

• Modified natural valves come from animal donors. (Porcine valves are from pigs, bovine are from cows.)

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Coronary Angioplasty

Coronary angioplasty is a medical procedure in which a balloon is used to open a blockage in a coronary (heart) artery narrowed by atherosclerosis. This procedure improves blood flow to the heart. Atherosclerosis is a condition in which a material called plaque builds up on the inner walls of the arteries. This can happen in any artery, including the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries carry
          oxygen-rich blood to your heart. When atherosclerosis affects the coronary arteries, the condition is called coronary artery disease (CAD).

Angioplasty is a common medical procedure. It may be used to do the following:

• Improve symptoms of CAD, such as angina and shortness of breath

• Reduce damage to the heart muscle from a heart attack

• Reduce the risk of death in some patients

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Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

         Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a type of surgery called revascularization, used to improve blood flow to the heart in people with severe coronary artery disease (CAD).

CAD occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle (the coronary arteries) become blocked due to the buildup of a material called plaque on the inside of the blood vessels. If the blockage is severe, chest pain (also called angina), shortness of breath, and, in some cases, heart attack can occur.

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Total Artificial Heart Surgery

A total artificial heart (TAH) is a device that replaces the two lower chambers of the heart. These chambers are called ventricles. You may benefit from a TAH if both of your ventricles don’t work due to end- stage heart failure.

Heart failure is a condition in which the heart is damaged or weakened and can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. “End stage” means the condition has become so severe that all treatments, except heart transplant, have failed.  

Overview

You may need a TAH for one of two reasons:

• To keep you alive while you wait for a heart transplant

• If you’re not eligible for a heart transplant, but you have end stage heart failure in both ventricles

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Heart Transplants

          A heart transplant is surgery to remove a person’s diseased heart and replace it with a healthy heart from a deceased donor. Ninety percent of heart transplants are done on patients who have end-stage heart failure.

Heart failure is a condition in which the heart is damaged or weakened and can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. End-stage means the condition has become so severe that all treatments, other than heart transplant, have failed.

Overview

Heart transplants are done as a life-saving measure for end-stage heart failure when medical treatment and less drastic surgery have failed.

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Carotid Endarterectomy

Carotid endarterectomy, or CEA, is surgery to remove plaque from the carotid arteries. These are the two large arteries on each side of your neck. They supply oxygen-rich blood to your brain.

CEA is used to prevent stroke, or “brain attack,” in people who have carotid artery disease. Carotid artery disease occurs when plaque builds up in the carotid arteries.

Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. Over time, plaque hardens and narrows the arteries. This limits or blocks the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your brain, which can lead to a stroke.

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Getting Back into Your Life after a Heart Attack

How soon can I return to my regular activities?

The amount of activity you can do after a heart attack will be based on the condition of your heart. Your doctor will work with you to develop a recovery plan. Most people can return to work and the activities they enjoy within a few months of having a heart attack. Others may have to limit their activity if the heart muscle is very weak.

You will need to start slowly. For the first few days after your heart attack, you may need to rest and let your heart heal. As your heart heals, you’ll be ready to start moving around again. A few days after your heart attack, your doctor may want you to move around more. You may do stretching exercises and get up and walk. You’ll then slowly become more active based on advice from your doctor.

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Post stroke Rehabilitation

        In the United States more than 700,000 people suffer a stroke each year, and approximately two thirds of these individuals survive and require rehabilitation. The goals of rehabilitation are to help survivors become as independent as possible and to attain the best possible quality of life. Even though rehabilitation does not “cure” stroke in that it does not reverse brain damage, rehabilitation can substantially help people achieve the best possible long-term outcome.

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The Future of Cardiovascular Disorder Treatment: Stem Cell Research

American Heart Association (AHA) Policy

The American Heart Association funds meritorious research involving human adult stem cells as part of our scientific research grant program. We do not fund any research involving stem cells derived from human embryos or fetal tissue.
The American Heart Association recognizes the value of all types of stem cell research and supports federal funding of this research. We are committed to supporting medical and scientific research to help us pursue our mission of reducing death and disability from cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

To stay abreast of the benefits and challenges in the area of human stem cell research the American Heart Association Research Committee annually monitors scientific activity in the area and periodically assesses current scientific opinion on the potential impact of embryonic and adult stem cell research on CVD [cardiovascular disease] and stroke.

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