After the Procedure:

Cardiac Rehabilitation: plays a key role in recovery. A medically supervised rehabilitation program helps you regain strength, improve heart health, and prevent future blockages through safe exercise, nutrition counseling, and education. Rehab also provides support for managing medications, lowering stress, and making lifestyle changes that protect your heart long-term. Treatments may include supervised exercise to enhance cardiovascular health, education on maintaining a heart-healthy lifestyle, and risk factor management through dietary and physical activity changes.

Treatments/Procedures:

Emergency and Hospital-Based Treatments

Medications:

• Aspirin to thin the blood and prevent further clots
• Thrombolytics (clot-busting drugs)
• Nitroglycerin to improve blood flow
• Beta-blockers to reduce heart strain
• ACE inhibitors or statins for long-term heart protection

Procedures:

• Cardiac catheterization to examine the heart and arteries
• Angioplasty and stent placement to open blocked arteries
• Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) to reroute blood flow around a blockage

Ongoing Care and Cardiac Rehabilitation

• Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs are medically supervised program to help you recover and strengthen your heart after a heart attack. Includes:
  • Exercise training tailored to your condition
  • Nutrition counseling
  • Education on heart-healthy living
  • Support to manage stress, quit smoking, and control blood pressure or diabetes

Long-Term Management from Cardiology

• Regular follow-up with a cardiologist
• Heart function monitoring (e.g., echocardiogram, stress tests)
• Medication management to prevent another heart attack
• Risk factor control (cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes)

Treatments:

Heart failure treatment includes a range of options, from lifestyle changes and medications to advanced surgical procedures. Cardiologists typically manage medications, lifestyle modifications, and certain device-based treatments, while cardiovascular surgeons perform major procedures like heart transplants and mechanical heart support. Additionally, cardiac rehabilitation plays a key role in helping patients strengthen their heart and manage their condition.

Cardiology:

• Lifestyle Changes: Help you eat better, exercise, and stop smoking.
• Medicines: Use drugs like diuretics (to remove extra water) and beta-blockers (to slow your heart).
• Device Procedures: May use a small device called an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to help fix fast or odd heartbeats.

Cardiovascular Surgery:

• LVAD Placement: Place a pump called an LVAD that helps your heart move blood. This pump can be a long-term fix or used while waiting for a heart transplant.
• Heart Transplant: Replace a very weak heart with a healthy donor heart

Cardiac Rehabilitation:

• Exercise training to improve stamina and heart function
• Education on symptom management and medication adherence
• Dietary guidance to reduce fluid retention and strain on the heart

Treatments/Procedures:

• Monitored exercise to rebuild cardiovascular fitness
• Nutritional counseling to maintain a healthy lifestyle
• Support for adapting to post-transplant life and managing medications

Treatments/Procedures:

• Structured physical activity to rebuild strength
• Monitored exercise sessions to support safe recovery
• Education on strategies to improve heart health and prevent complications

Treatments/Procedures:

• Peripheral angioplasty and stenting
• Atherectomy
• Medications to improve blood flow

Treatments/Procedures:

• Tailored exercise programs to improve cardiovascular fitness
• Education on managing symptoms and triggers
• Lifestyle changes to address risk factors like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.