Cardiac Rehab Myths Your Patients Might Believe

Posted by on March 20, 2017

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to cardiac rehab after surgery. Exercise, education, and counseling are all important aspects--but the most important thing is for patients to actually do cardiac rehab. Unfortunately, there are some myths circling out there that might make your patients hesitate, and that hesitation can impact their health. Here's what you need to know to debunk those myths and help ease your patients' minds.

The Basics

Health-related myths travel in a lot of ways, and this is one situation where the Internet certainly isn't on your side. Whether patients read something online, heard a "horror story" from a friend, or had this myth passed down to them through generations, the power of a few misconstrued facts can be alarming. Even if the myth pushes the boundaries of logic or seems easy to solve, it often feels safer to a patient not to take the risk. That's where you come in. You have to convince patients of two things: first, that these myths aren't that big of a deal; and second, that believing these myths is actually dangerous because it keeps cardiac rehab from doing its job in the healing process.

Facing the Myths

Here are a few of the most common problems patients have with cardiac rehab, according to our cardiac rehab experts.

Safety. Some patients hesitate to take part in cardiac rehab because they don't believe their bodies are ready--and considering all they've been through and felt, this is a fair concern. Patients can generally be comforted by the facts; after all, cardiac rehab is adapted to fit personal needs and abilities, and it wouldn't be prescribed if it was too dangerous.
Time. Scheduling in cardiac rehab is a daunting task for a lot of patients. However, since rehab can adapt to fit the unique schedules of patients as they work through their healing journeys, you can convince them that it's easy to fit this in--and, even more important, it's crucial, so other things might have to come second.
Learning. One of the biggest myths about cardiac rehab is that it teaches what you already know. Patients think they have it all figured out--and that's not to say that they know nothing about their health, but the truth is that we can all learn a little more when it comes to taking care of our bodies.