ASK DR. BAUGHAN                                      April 3, 1999

HELPERS FOR YOUR HEART

The snow creeps away from the sidewalk.  Fifty degree weather feels like the tropics!  You hear a bird singing, and your heart sings, too!  Finally!  All winter you have been repeating, “I really, really, really want to get out and start exercising more.  If I exercise a bit more consistently then I may be able to . . . lose 5-10 pounds . . . then I may get my blood pressure consistently down in that target range and not need to increase my blood pressure medicine . . . I may be able to get those last 20 points off my cholesterol and reach that goal, too.”  You know you have been living with one or more heart attack risk factors, and if you can shape up for the millenium, what a way to start a new century.  There is that nagging worry, “OK, I am serious about this, but how do I do this right?  I don’t want to overdue things and strain my heart or get discouraged from too much too quick.”

Well, I am please to report that help is here.  Heart Helpers, the cardiac rehabilitation program at The Memorial Hospital, is beginning a program especially for the many people who fit the above scenario.  They call it the Phase III Cardiac Rehabilitation Program.  Now you may say, “But I don’t have heart disease, so why do I need to be ‘rehabilitated?’”  Then forget the word rehabilitation, and call it conditioning.  And no, you don’t need to go through Phase I or Phase II to get to Phase III.  This is geared for prevention of heart disease.  Anyone with one or more risk factors for heart disease are eligible - hypertension, high cholesterol, men over 45, women over 55, anyone with diabetes, smokers, anyone with a family history of heart disease.

What does the program amount to?  You can meet in a group session up to 3 times a week for up to 6 months for one hour per session.  The sessions involve warm up, exercise and cool down sessions supervised by the specially trained cardiac rehab Registered Nurses.  There is an educational video series as well as one-to-one instruction.  Your oxygen level can be checked by a pulse oximeter that fits on your finger.  Your blood pressure will be checked weekly and your heart rhythm will be monitored once a month.  The cost?  $41.00 per month for an individual.  Couples rates are available.  Most insurance plans are not likely to pay for this, but it won’t hurt to check and see if they will.  Or ask them, why not?

The program is not intended to train you for a marathon, but to get you started on safe, steady, healthy exercise.  When you “graduate,” you will feel more confident in knowing how to progress in improving your fitness while monitoring your cardiac response.  As I have written repeatedly in this column, you do not need to climb Mt. Washington to have a healthy heart.  Start gradually and find your niche in a regular exercise pattern.

If you are interested, you can contact your primary care provider, or you can call the Heart Helpers Program directly at 356-5461, extension 417.  Warm weather is calling!  Be ready to answer with motion!