your health 17
yourheart
G
EORGE is just one of
hundreds of people who
are helped every year by
a dedicated team of cardiac
rehabilitation professionals in Kent.
Made up of cardiac nurses, exercise
physiologists, physiotherapists,
counsellors, stop smoking advisors and
a weight management scheme, the
NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent
Community Services Rehabilitation
Team offers one of the most extensive
rehab programmes in the country.
Debbie Ferrett, pictured below, is
the exercise physiologist attached to
the Thanet programme � one of five
in east Kent.
She said: "For many people,
discovering they have a heart
condition is one of the most
traumatic events of their life.
"Our aim is to help patients to recover
and resume their normal life as quickly
as possible. Along with regaining
fitness and strength we focus on
restoring people's confidence."
The programme, which tackles every
aspect of their recovery, is
available for patients who
have a range of cardiac
conditions including
those who have had
stents, by-passes, heart
attacks, heart failure or
valve repairs.
The current age of people on the
programme ranges from 19 to 87
years, including both men and
women, although predominantly men.
The eight to 12-week course involves
two exercise classes and one lifestyle
session a week. The exercise can be
done as part of a group at the sports
centre, in the gym or at home � but
all are done under the watchful eye
of the team.
The lifestyle sessions involve talks
from professionals on a range of
topics including medication, diet,
stress and relaxation, future exercise,
how the heart works and the best
ways to exercise.
A patient's first appointment is at
the Queen Elizabeth the Queen
Mother Hospital in Margate where
their exercise tolerance will be
assessed and they will be allocated
to the appropriate exercise class.
Debbie said: "The first class can
be quite daunting, but there are
plenty of staff to help put people
at ease. Patients are encouraged
to exercise at the appropriate level
in a safe environment.
"Every time someone comes to a
class, we check their pulse rate,
ask how they are feeling and
check if they have changed their
medication. We also look at how
they are breathing, their
colour and general well-being."
This is followed by a 15 to 20 minute
warm up which involves stretching
their muscles and raising the pulse
rate, slowly dilating the coronary
arteries allowing more blood to the
heart and therefore allowing it to
work harder, supplying the muscles
with oxygen. The heart is a muscle
and like any other muscle so needs
exercise to keep it in condition.
Debbie continued: "The patients then
do up to three circuits of the room,
which has 10 exercises placed round
it. These are a mixture of aerobic
exercises (working the heart) and
toning exercises. The patients then do
a cool-down and stretches to allow
their heart to slow down and recover.
"Over a period of time we gradually
increase the time an individual
spends on the aerobic exercises,
subject to how they are managing.
"At the end of their time with us, every
patient has a finishing appointment
at which they are assessed again
using an assessment walk and also
their future management of risk
factors are discussed.
"We encourage partners to come into
the talks and sessions as one thing we
hear a lot is that partners or families
are wrapping them up in cotton wool
or, on the other hand, making them
Road to recovery

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