It's for the soul as well. Robinson had a quadruple bypass May 3 and by June 1 was going through the cardiac rehab program at Abilene Regional Medical Center. It helped me build myself back up so that I could go to work again. Life goes on. Programs at both hospitals typically last about 12 weeks.
Patients come three times a week, exercising on treadmills, stationary bicycles and stair steppers.
While patients are exercising, nurses and exercise technicians are monitoring heart rate and blood pressure. According to nurse managers of the Hendrick and ARMC cardiac units, many patients come to rehab scared that something else will trigger another heart attack. But we have to show them that they are not invalids. Nurse manager of Hendrick's program, Stephanie Jones, agrees. I would say about 90 percent of the people who have a heart attack or heart surgery suffer from depression afterward.