St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Cardiac Rehabilitation Program Earns Prestigious Certification

Following a significant cardiac event, such as a heart attack or heart surgery, there is a proven way to enhance a patient’s quality of life – a specialized program called cardiac rehabilitation. Research indicates that patients who undergo cardiac rehabilitation have 25-30% reduction in heart attacks and strokes. St. Luke’s Health-Memorial takes heart health seriously and is proud to announce the certification of its Cardiac Rehabilitation program by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR).

Cardiovascular rehabilitation is designed to help patients recover faster and improve their quality of life. The program includes research-centered patient-specific care including individualized exercise plans, risk factor assessment, nutritional assessment, lifestyle modification education, counseling and support for patients and their families. St. Luke’s Health was recognized by AACVPR and its peers for a steady commitment to improving the quality of life by enhancing standards of care.

The Cardiac Rehabilitation program opened in Lufkin in 2014 and has since had 248 graduates from the program. Our highly trained staff includes the area’s only certified exercise physiologist.

“Cardiac Rehabilitation helps heart patients live longer,” said Dr. Ravinder Bachireddy, Medical Director of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Center and President of the Heart Institute of East Texas. “Cardiac Rehabilitation is evidence based and is strongly recommended by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.  We are proud to have been nationally accredited by AACVPR.  Our program promotes healthy lifestyle changes with exercise, diet and weight loss.  Our goal is to provide the best patient care possible and demonstrate our commitment to the East Texas region and to our patients by improving their overall health and wellbeing.”

The St. Luke’s Health Cardiac Rehabilitation Program participated in an application process that requires extensive documentation of the program’s practices. AACVPR Program Certification is the only peer-review accreditation process designed to analyze and observe individual programs for adherence to standards and guidelines developed and published by AACVPR and other professional societies. Each program is reviewed by the AACVPR Program Certification Committee and certification is awarded by the program’s Board of Directors.

AACVPR-certified programs are recognized as leaders in the field of cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation because they offer the most advanced practices available.

St. Luke’s Health-Memorial’s individualized cardiac rehabilitation program typically lasts between 6-12 weeks and consists of 2-3 exercise and/or education sessions per week. The team uses a multidisciplinary approach to meet the needs of each patient, including continuous heart and hemodynamic monitoring to ensure healthy progression and cardiovascular wellness.

AACVPR Program Certification is valid for three years.