A new program has started at the Horizon Credit Union Centre's (HCUC) Cardiac Care Centre to promote a healthy heart.
Sunrise Health Region (SHR) registered nurses Kerry O'Donnell and Kayla Morash, who work in the primary health care department out of Yorkton, conducted the first session of the cardiac rehab program last Thursday at the facility.
"Most of the people in the program have been referred by their cardiologist or their cardiac surgeon because they have had a recent admission into the general hospital in Regina," says O'Donnell.
"The staffing and the medical equipment is all provided by the SHR and there is no fee to participate in the program."
Part of the programming provided by primary health care is the cardiac rehab program which was brand new with SHR starting in May of last year.
There is two parts to the program, education and exercise. Participants learn how to start their exercise program again after having a heart attack, open-heart surgery or bypass grafting. Participants are medically supervised while in the program with heart rates and rhythms monitored as well as blood pressure.
"When participants finish the program there is an exercise therapist who makes up home exercise programs for everybody based on where they are at when they finish the program so they can carry on at home with an exercise program," says Morash.
"It's amazing to see the people change from the beginning of the program, you see a transformation to the end of the program and they feel the transformation and they are so proud of themselves for what they have accomplished.
They feel the reward after when they're able to do more things at home. It's not just for heart health, it's for benefiting their daily life and every task they do."
The current program is primarily intended for people who are referred to the primary health care unit but the next program, which starts in September, will be open to anyone with risk factors for heart disease such as weight problems, high cholesterol, high-blood pressure or family history of heart disease.
