How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

Cardiac rehabilitation at Baylor Waxahachie.

A combination of heredity and a former smoking habit sent Debra Maxson to the hospital with a heart attack at the age of 42, back in 1995. Balloon angioplasty and four stents helped keep her vessels clear, but last October she had another heart attack.

Stents and bypasses are no longer an option for her damaged heart, but thanks to the cardiac rehab program at Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie, she is strengthening her heart muscle.

Maxson started her cardiac rehab program two weeks after her heart attack, and three months later she reports that she’s built up her heart muscle from 30 percent to 38 percent. Plus, she expected she would need an implanted defibrillator, but her doctors no longer think that’s necessary.

“I started out just walking, doing arm exercises and riding the bike,” Maxson says. “I’ve progressed to the treadmill, adding some resistance to the arm exercises and the bike, and toning with weights.” Maxson visited the cardiac rehab center three times a week for an hour and a half each time under supervision. After 12 weeks, she “graduated” from the program and now she exercises at the center on her own.

“Our program is a medically supervised exercise program designed to help promote and regain strength, reduce risk factors and reduce the likelihood of a future cardiac event,” explains John Shelton, cardiac rehab director at Baylor Waxahachie.

Studies show that cardiac rehab works. Shelton reports that 95 percent of people who attend cardiac rehab steer clear of cardiac events for the next three years, compared to 64 percent of those who don’t.

He says most people in his program start with aerobic exercise for four weeks, then add in strength training. Once they’ve reached their goal, usually in 12 weeks or less, they can exercise on their own, either at the center or elsewhere.

In addition to exercise, the program helps people make other lifestyle changes that can help keep their hearts healthy. The center offers nutrition and cholesterol management courses, stress management training, tobacco cessation techniques and weightloss tips.

If you would like to learn more about cardiac rehab at Baylor Waxahachie, call 1-800-4BAYLOR.