Living the healthy heart path. Rehabilitation after a cardiac event

Although cardiac rehabilitation has traditionally been linked to specific programs in which patients participate after having a cardiac event, the concept of cardiac rehabilitation has expanded to many domains of nursing. Not only are critical care nurses the initiators of cardiac rehabilitation through thorough and accurate teaching of the cardiac event but all nurses should be attuned to the modifiable risk factors to direct patients at high risk for possible prevention of a cardiac event. It is a critical care nurse who is knowledgeable about the focus and goals of cardiac rehabilitation, who incorporates the patient's family in the early rehabilitation stages, and who considers cultural variations who can provide optimal care to the patient, helping him or her lead a healthy and productive life.