The Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Cardiac Rehabilitation Program is designed to improve cardiovascular fitness, function and knowledge in a safe and enjoyable way for people with heart disease or who have had cardiac surgery. Additionally, our team provides personal care treatment programs tailored specifically to each patient's needs. TGH’s Cardiac Rehab Program implements clinically-proven guidelines and offers patients the convenience of both in-person and at-home virtual options for care through our trusted partners at Recora.
What is Cardiac Rehabilitation?
Cardiac rehabilitation is a 36-session program that is clinically proven to strengthen your heart, reduce your chances of returning to the hospital and can increase your life expectancy by as much as five years. The 12-week program consists of either 1-on-1 or group sessions, which are all supervised by nurses and cardiac therapists and is entirely personalized based on your health history, medications and physical strength.
Who Needs Cardiac Rehabilitation?
If you are recovering from a heart attack, heart failure, or other heart problem that required surgery or medical care, cardiac rehabilitation is an important part of your recovery. In addition to improving your overall fitness and your ability to complete daily activities, cardiac rehabilitation can help prevent another, perhaps more serious, heart attack and can help you build heart-healthy habits. Our world-class program is staffed by team members who are have been trained using standards set by the American Heart Association. Your program will be overseen by a specialized cardiologist, in order to ensure that you are placed on the best path for your improvement.
In general, we see patients who have or have had:
- Heart attacks
- Coronary artery disease
- Congestive heart failure
- Heart valve disease
- Heart transplant
- Coronary revascularization with stents or bypass surgery
- Placement of mechanical assist devices (MAD)
Many patients enter TGH’s Cardiac Rehab Program following hospitalization. Our rehab program has the goal of preventing additional cardiac events for patients and improving your quality of life.
Phases of Cardiac Rehabilitation
Cardiac rehabilitation is designed to help you return safely to a productive and active lifestyle after your surgery. It involves monitored exercise, support, and education on lifestyle changes to reduce your risk of future heart problems.
Phase I: The first phase of cardiac rehabilitation begins in the hospital. The physical and occupational therapists, along with nursing staff, will provide you with education and exercise to promote your recovery. You will continue Phase I at home once you are discharged from Tampa General Hospital.
Phase II: This is an optional outpatient program that begins after you are discharged home. The American Heart Association recommends cardiac rehabilitation for recovery and prevention of heart disease. At the time of discharge from hospital, your doctor will provide you with a prescription to attend. Most insurance covers all or most of the expenses for phase II cardiac rehabilitation. Tampa General Hospital offers two options for scheduling. You may choose our In-Person rehab, where you come to class at our Armenia Avenue Location in Tampa, FL, or you may choose to work out with our specialist, virtually, in the comfort of your own home.
Whether you prefer to work-out in Tampa or from the comfort of your home, you will be provided with an individualized progressive exercise program to safely improve your strength, endurance, and functional capacity. While exercising, your heart rate, rhythm, and blood pressure will be continuously monitored by cardiac rehabilitation staff. Also, educational tools will be provided to address risk factors of heart disease.
As you work out and recover, your team will be monitoring your progress. Once you are able to safely return to movement at home, without a monitor, you will be able to graduate your cardiac rehab program. Graduation may occur at anytime between the first and 12th weeks of rehab and is a decision you, the physician and your rehab team make, together, based on your individual situation and progress.
Phase IIl: This is a maintenance phase in which you are encouraged and supported to continue the healthy lifestyle changes you have made. At graduation, you and your rehab team will help you create a plan to sustain movement and cardiac health!
What to Expect During Cardiac Rehabilitation
Cardiac rehabilitation is designed to help you return safely to a productive and active lifestyle after your surgery. It involves monitored exercise, support, and education on lifestyle changes to reduce your risk of future heart problems.
During the initial evaluation a provider will conduct a thorough evaluation of your medical history, provide a tour of the clinic, and conduct and initial assessment. From that information, and individualized treatment plan will be created. Your treatment plan will be are updated monthly.
Each 1-hour exercise session (up to 36 sessions, depending on your unique progress) may include a variety of cardiac equipment. Our expert staff will monitor your responses to exercise and assist you in selecting and increasing appropriate intensity of exercise.
Our staff is readily available to assist with any questions or concerns, at any time. Please call us at (813) 844-7719 to reach our in-person clinical team, or call (888) 732-6721 to reach our experts at our virtual rehab program, if you’re working out at home.
In-Person Cardiac Rehabilitation
The TGH Cardiac Rehabilitation Program is conveniently located on the third floor at 509 South Armenia Avenue, Suite 301, Tampa, FL 33609. Our 10,000-square-foot facility with state-of-the-art equipment is easy to access from anywhere in the Tampa Bay area and has its own dedicated parking.
Hours - Evaluations: Tuesday and Thursdays, 8am & 10am
Frequently Asked Questions About Recora
TGH has partnered with Recora to provide a virtual cardiac rehabilitation program you can complete in the comfort of your own home. Our staff consists of clinicians, dietitians, and exercise specialists who will provide personalized sessions based on your health history, medications and physical strength.
Cardiac rehabilitation can help many individuals achieve their recovery goals and avoid a repeat visit back to the hospital. Home-based cardiac rehabilitation is proven to be safe and effective, and allows you to participate from the comfort of your own home when it works best for your schedule.
First, you will meet with one of Recora's orientation exercise physiologists to discuss your health goals and clinical history. They will create a personalized treatment plan for you and will tailor it to your needs throughout the duration of your time in the program.
Then, based on your treatment plan and schedule, you will be matched with a session exercise physiologist. You will meet with them 2-3 times a week to go over exercises and health coaching throughout the 12-18 week program. They will also keep in contact with your TGH care team to provide updates. Recora also offers group education sessions.
The Recora team has developed this platform with users in mind to create a seamless experience. If you need assistance connecting to sessions, please contact1-888-RECORA-1 (888-732-6721).
Cardiac rehabilitation is a covered Medicare program and most supplemental insurance should cover any copay. Please verify all information with your insurance plan.
How to Schedule an Appointment
If you have a cardiac rehab order from your physician, you can expect to be contacted by one of our staff who will get you scheduled for your initial evaluation. At that time, you will be asked to choose where you would like to complete your rehab.
Cardiac rehab is safe to participate in while maintaining surgical precautions set by your provider. Your cardiac rehab team of experts will assist you in remaining safe, while also strengthening your heart.
Typically it is encouraged for patients to follow up within 4 weeks of hospital discharge. If you have NOT heard from our team, please call 888-732-6721 to inquire about setting up your initial evaluation.
Virtual Cardiac Rehabilitation aims to provide accessible, patient-centered care through a remote platform, supporting patients in improving cardiovascular health, reducing risk factors, and enhancing quality of life for patients recovering from cardiovascular events or procedures. Virtual Cardiac Rehabilitation addresses barriers to in-person participation such as geography, transportation, mobility, or scheduling challenges.
General Education
Nutrition:
- Adjustment of caloric intake to achieve and maintain optimal weight.
- Reduction of dietary cholesterol to about 300 milligrams per day
- Reduction of total fat to less than 30% of calories daily.
- Reduction of dietary saturated fat to less than 10% of calories daily.
- Reduction of dietary sodium to 2000 milligrams daily.
Physical Activity:
- Exercise and daily activity log
- It is best to keep an activity log to track your progress.
- Warm-up and cool-down exercises are recommended as part of your exercise routine.
- Try to achieve a goal of 30-60 minutes of exercise at least 3x per week.
- Balance activity and rest.
Modes of exercise:
- Endurance (aerobic exercise): Helps to strengthen the heart and cardiovascular system. Studies have shown that aerobic exercise forat least 30 minutes 3-4 times a week is beneficial.
- Examples of aerobic exercise include walking, cycling, dancing, and marching in place.
- Strengthening exercise: Helps to improve muscle strength. It will also increase your overall endurance. Start with low resistance and progress by increasing repetitions and then increasing weight. Examples of strengthening exercises include bicep curls with weights or therapeutic elastic bands, ankle weights and stand up and sit downs.
- Both endurance and strength training should begin with warm up and end with cool down exercises.
- Each warm up and cool down may consist of 5 to 10 minutes of low intensity exercises and stretches
Stress management:
- Stress can contribute to high blood pressure risk factors such as poor diet and drinking too much alcohol.
- You can fight stress with healthy habits such as exercising regularly and getting enough sleep.
How stress affects your health:
- We may feel emotional discomfort when faced with a stressful situation. Our bodies can react by releasing stress hormones into the blood. These hormones make the heart beat faster. They also constrict blood vessels to get more blood to your muscles so you’ll have more strength to react to the cause of the stress. This is called the “fight or flight” response.
- These changes raise blood pressure temporarily. When the stress reaction goes away, blood pressure returns to its pre-stress level. This is called situational stress. Its effects are usually short-lived and go away when the stressful event is over.
- “Fight or flight” is important when we are faced with a threat we can handle by confronting or fleeing. However, there are many stressful events that we can’t handle by fighting or leaving. Long-term stress can cause our bodies to go into high gear on and off for days or weeks at a time. The links between
- long-term stress and blood pressure are not clear and are still being studied.
Fight stress with healthy habits:
- Exercise regularly. Walk, swim, ride a bike or jog to get your muscles going. Do what you enjoy. Sleep at least 7 hours a night. You feel better when you let go of the tension in your body. Limit alcohol don’t overeat and don’t smoke.
