The importance of local Cardiac Rehab and ER services
Cardiac Rehab at Veterans Memorial Hospital ... The heart needs to exercise in order to regain much of its strength following any cardiac event, but patients need close supervision due to the heart’s delicate condition. In Cardiac Rehabilitation, the patient’s heart is continually monitored by a telemetry unit that watches the heart’s activity. Pictured is Duwayne Rude of Lansing on the NuStep machine in Cardiac Rehab, along with his wife, Raffaela, and Dietsy Weymiller, RN, Cardiac Rehab nurse. In Duwayne’s case, this constant supervision and an ER just down the hall was life-saving. The Cardiac Rehab nurses continually supervise each session documenting all activity, doing blood pressure checks, measuring improvement and patient’s response to activity. Without this local Cardiac Rehabilitation program at Veterans Memorial Hospital, many heart patients would need to travel a great distance three times per week to attend another program, or go without proper rehabilitation. Submitted photo.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Half a million people die each year due to this disease. Many people develop symptoms of heart disease when they are in their 40s or 50s, interrupting a most productive time of life. Cardiac Rehabilitation is an important tool in the fight against heart disease. Rehabilitation involves monitored exercise, nutritional counseling, emotional support and education about lifestyle changes to reduce risks of heart problems.
Duwayne Rude of Lansing had his first heart attack September 14, 2018. He did the right thing and immediately called 911. The Lansing ambulance brought him to the emergency room at Veterans Memorial Hospital, where he was stabilized. He was then rushed by ambulance to La Crosse, WI where he was scheduled for open heart surgery the next day.
“I needed a quadruple bypass, then spent another seven days recuperating in La Crosse before being discharged back home in Lansing,” explains Duwayne. “A few weeks later, I began going to Cardiac Rehabilitation three times a week at Veterans Memorial Hospital. I was very happy I could do this locally in Waukon.”
About six weeks into his cardiac rehab sessions, during a session the day before Thanksgiving, Duwayne again experienced chest pain. He was taken down the hall to the emergency room (ER), where they diagnosed yet another heart attack. The emergency staff stabilized Duwayne once again before transferring him to La Crosse.
“They found that somehow two of those new veins got pinched and they plugged, so this time I went into surgery for stents,” adds Duwayne. “I was wide awake for this procedure and there was nothing to it. I was able to watch the whole thing on the TV. It was very impressive.”
After a week, Duwayne was back in Waukon in Cardiac Rehab where he finished up his 32 sessions last spring. “I was able to climb right back on the NuStep machine after getting the stents and I sure feel a lot better,” adds Duwayne. “The Cardiac Rehab staff was so good to me and all the doctors and nurses who fussed over me in ER both times were great. I am so thankful this all turned out so well.”
Cardiac Rehabilitation nurses Amy Rolfs, RN and Diann Weymiller, RN oversee individualized cardiac rehabilitation programs for their patients at Veterans Memorial Hospital. The heart needs to exercise in order to regain much of its strength following the cardiac event, but patients need close supervision due to the heart’s delicate condition. In Cardiac Rehabilitation, the patient’s heart is continually monitored by a telemetry unit that watches the heart’s activity. The nurses continually supervise each session documenting all activity, doing blood pressure checks, measuring improvement and patient’s response to activity. Without this local Cardiac Rehabilitation program at Veterans Memorial Hospital, many heart patients would need to travel a great distance, three times per week to attend another program, or go without proper rehabilitation.
For more information on the Veterans Memorial Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation department, call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
