TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A heart attack can happen anywhere and at any time. People recovering from a heart-related incident or even a serious lung illness need proper care to get back to normal. Northwest Medical Center’s cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation program is one of the few certified facilities in Tucson.
The CDC says somone in the US has an heart attack every 40 seconds and they occur when the heart muscle doesn’t get enough blood. Knowing the warning signs of a heart attack can save a life.
Phyllis Nielsen underwent two open heart surgeries in the last year and a half.
"Your heart, I mean, it runs everything," said Nielsen.
Her first surgery was for mitral valve prolapse, a heart valve disease. Her second surgery was this March, followed up by another round of cardiac rehab at Northwest Medical Center.
“I had to have my tricuspid done because the cord that is attached to the tricuspid," said Nielsen. "To the muscle tore and I had severe regurgitation.”
There are three phases in the program. Supervised exercise training begins in the second phase with a personalized routine that lasts about 12 weeks.
“It’s like you realize you’re not invincible," Nielsen said. "It can happen to anyone and I’ve been working out since my 20s.”
Clinical exercise physiologist, Brandicus Coleman, helped Nielsen improve her exercise intensity. Nielsen tells me she most enjoys the elliptical machine.
“It’s a great way to strengthen the heart in a shorter amount of time and also," Coleman said. "Gives them confidence that they can leave this program knowing that they can do anything they want to do and their quality of life has improved.”
Todd Locher, MD pulmonary rehabilitation medical director at Northwest Medical Center, says there are at least 16 million people in the U.S. with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
"Patients come for a thorough evaluation and that's how it gets started. The evaluation consists of both subjective and objective measures," Dr. Locher said. "The subjective measures are questionnaires which are validated and widely used questionnaires. We assess symptoms of chronic lung disease. We assess symptoms of depression and quality of life. The objective evaluation is very simple and it consists of what we call a six minute walk test."
Nielsen recommends everyone to pay attention to their body, even if they think something isn’t that serious.
“Life can be taken from you in a second and that you have to enjoy every day that you’re given," Neilsen said.
CDC data shows heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Every year, about 805,000 people have a heart attack.
Some heart attack warning signs to remember are chest discomfort like tightness and discomfort in other areas of the upper body like your arms.
To enter the cardiac and pulmonary program at Northwest Medical Center, you must be referred by a doctor.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
