Gunnison Valley Health’s cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program is
designed for cardiovascular and pulmonary patients recovering from a cardiac
or pulmonary event. The program builds around the patient’s whole
health and lifestyle to get the heart and lungs working properly again.
The goal of the cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program is to use exercise
as medicine while focusing on overall wellness, not just physical fitness.
Since the program is a part of the health system, the specialists can
connect patients with a dietitian or mental health professional as needed.
The program primarily uses aerobic exercises to help bring patients to
their best possible physical fitness, but the specialist will also utilize
balance exercises, range of motion exercises and resistance training.
The specialist works to tailor every exercise program to each patient’s
individual needs, with an end goal of the patient making lifestyle changes,
rather than temporary changes.
The cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program has three phases. Phase one
will generally be inpatient at the facility where the patient either had
surgery or a cardiovascular event. Phase one focuses on making sure you
are stable and ready to be discharged. This can include prescribing exercises
to improve mobility and helping address any safety concerns following
an event and educating the patient and family about any future risks.
Phase two is a monitoring phase – and takes place in an outpatient
setting at Gunnison Valley Health. This phase includes monitoring the
way your body responds to activity in order to create an exercise plan
for optimal recovery. This phase focuses on returning to your normal lifestyle
while maintaining safe heart and lung levels. Once the patient has completed
phase two, they will move to phase three.
For patients in the Gunnison Valley phase three is completed in partnership
with Western Colorado University. Their program Wellness Elevated, is
run by interns at WCU. These interns work to create specialized exercise
prescriptions for each individual patient. These prescriptions are overseen
by a cardiopulmonary physician. The goal of phase three is to create long
lasting lifestyle habits that are safe for each individual patient. The
goal of phase three is to maintain optimal health while returning to your
normal lifestyle.
For more information and to schedule an appointment, call us at
(970) 641-7201.
