Health professionals and peers in a cardiac rehab program can provide education to help you reduce your risk factors for heart disease. You will receive instruction to help you:

Quit smoking.

Quitting smoking may be the most important step you can take to prevent coronary artery disease. After you quit smoking, you lower your risk of coronary artery disease. Switching from cigarettes to cigars or pipes will not improve your risk of heart disease. The best thing for your heart is to quit using all tobacco products.

Reduce chest pain (angina).

Education and counseling can help you learn how to reduce episodes of chest pain. Angina occurs during activities that make the heart work harder, such as climbing stairs, having sex, eating a large meal, emotional stress, or exposure to cold. Other symptoms of angina include shortness of breath, nausea, and a cold, sweaty feeling. Angina is often relieved by rest and medicines.

Stay at a healthy weight.

Education combined with exercise, diet, and support can help you stay at a healthy weight or lose weight if you need to. If you need to lose weight, try not to feel overwhelmed. Set small, attainable goals, and then get help to keep reaching those goals. Losing even a small amount of weight can improve your overall health and reduce your risk of developing further heart problems.

Lower high blood pressure.

You will receive tips on lowering your high blood pressure through methods such as the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet. When combined with exercise and stress management, dietary changes can help lower your blood pressure.

Lower cholesterol.

You will get help lowering your high cholesterol through lifestyle changes and possibly medicine. Lifestyle methods include the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) program. The lifestyle changes include diet, exercise, weight loss, and other changes like quitting tobacco use. Your cardiac rehab team can also check on how you are doing with taking cholesterol medicine. You will want to follow TLC even if you are taking cholesterol-lowering medicine. Your medicine will be more effective if you have healthy eating and exercise habits.

Improve emotional well-being.

The education and support you receive in a cardiac rehab program can help you feel better about yourself in your everyday life. Seeking help for depression, along with managing any anxiety and anger you may have, can improve your quality of life.