Heart attacks are one of our most common brushes with death.
They are too common. This national epidemic claims 1 million Americans a year, but leaves behind millions of survivors who must change their life or risk another attack. The damage to the heart s muscle tissue can be considerable after a heart attack, depending on how large an area was deprived of oxygen by a blockage during the attack. The scar tissue that results after surviving a heart attack will never again help the heart contract and pump blood throughout the body. Unfortunately, there s no such thing as true cardiovascular rehabilitation.