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In August 2018, Frackville resident Robert (Bob) Moyer, 67, felt a burning pain similar to heartburn. It also was a painful reminder of his first heart attack in 1994. When the pain didn’t subside, Moyer sought medical attention.
He was diagnosed with a heart attack caused by a 99 percent blockage in his right coronary artery. At Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Cedar Crest, Moyer underwent surgical placement of two stents.
Moyer was then prescribed cardiac rehabilitation at LVH–Schuylkill three times a week, for up to 12 weeks. As a longtime high school football and track coach, Moyer initially believed he could simply exercise on his own, but eventually thought better of it.
“With a family history of heart disease and two heart attacks under my belt, my back was against the wall,” Moyer says. “I have two grandsons who I want to see grow up, and I want to do things right.”
Cardiac rehab coaching
For Moyer, that meant trusting the cardiac rehabilitation program at LVH–Schuylkill E. Norwegian Street, certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Participants are monitored during exercise using a cardiac telemetry system and receive education about nutrition, exercise, smoking cessation and conditions like diabetes.
“We take a look at each patient’s individual profile and risk factors,” says Crysta Zimmerman, clinical manager for cardiac rehabilitation at LVH–Schuylkill. “Then our registered nurses and exercise physiologists work with each patient to manage those risk factors.”
In Moyer’s case, he was coached to build his strength and stamina, manage his blood pressure medication, watch his sodium intake, and listen to his body.
“The rehab team educated me in how to go slowly as my body heals,” Moyer says. “And I was given personalized guidance every step of the way, along with handouts and explanations for nutrition and dieting.”
Tools to succeed
With outreach to dietitians, certified diabetes educators, a tobacco cessation program and behavioral counselors, cardiac rehabilitation is more than just an exercise program. Patients are discharged only after discussing risk factor management, plans for continued exercise and goals going forward. “We tell our patients to get a heart health folder ready so they can keep all of the information we give them to revisit once a person completes the program,” Zimmerman says. “It’s information they can use for life.”
–KRISTEN CHANLEY
