Cardiac Rehab: Week 2

This was my second week at Valley. I got to meet more of the staff throughout the hospital. I have learned so much already. I'm glad I get to rotate between inpatient and outpatient. It is completely different working with the two groups. Inpatient is less detailed and shorter time with each patient. Outpatient is busier. There is an exercise class almost every hour when these patients come in. They come 3 days a week. Depending on their risk stratification, a certain number of sessions are given to each patient. Mostly all the patients come for 36 sessions which means they are at higher risk. So far I have seen mostly patients that were treated with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) with stents. Before exercise, the patients are told to weigh themselves, followed by electrode placement for EKG monitoring. Blood pressure is taken at rest before exercise, halfway while on the first machine, and post exercise after cool down. Once each patient begins their exercise routine, RPE and METS are recorded while on each machine. A nurse is always watching the EKG monitor throughout exercise. Educational videos on various cardiac conditions and safety are shown while the patients are exercising. The nurses also give talks to the patients about healthy living.
I learned how to prepare charts for new patients. Also, I was able to observe an evaluation of a new patient. Abby, an exercise physiologist and nurse, interviewed the patient. He had PTCA with stents placed. His doctor precribed cardiac rehab for him. After the interview, Abby concluded that he needed 36 weeks of rehab due to him being high risk. I'm looking forward to working with him and seeing how he progresses over time.