Cardiac rehabilitation necessary for return to full and active life for recovery

"Each year, more than a million people in the United States suffer a heart attack. And about half of them die, most before they get to the hospital, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,. About half of all heart attack deaths occur within one hour of the start of symptoms and before the person reaches the hospital. 'It's what we call the 'golden hour,' the time between (when) symptoms first appear and treatment occurs,' said Lori Steinhart, a cardiac rehabilitation nurse at Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street. Patients often don't recognize the symptoms and that they're actually having a heart attack. They may delay seeking treatment, which can cause further damage to the heart, she said. For survivors, a return to a full and active life is possible with lifestyle changes, medication, proper followup treatment and cardiac rehabilitation, said Crys Zimmerman, a clinical exercise physiologist in the cardiac rehabilitation center at SMC-South Jackson Street." - The REPUBLICAN & Herald