RiverView Health marks Cardiac Rehabilitation Week – Crookston Daily Times

Times Report | Crookston Times

Everyone knows Feb. 14 is Valentines Day. However, did you know that Feb. 14-20 is Cardiac Rehabilitation Week?

Cardiac diseases are some of the leading causes of death around the world, and understanding the signs and symptoms of heart disease can be a big challenge. Cardiac Rehabilitation Week aims to educate people about how to manage heart disease better.

RiverView Healths Cardiopulmonary Rehab Coordinator Wanda Sorum wants people to know they can manage their heart health close to home.

Just ask. That is her advice for keeping your care close to home with providers you know and trust.

RiverView Health offers many tests and procedures in Crookston that are identical to what you would receive anywhere else, Sorum explains. All you have to do is make your provider aware that you would like the test they order performed locally.

Specifically, Sorum shares the availability of stress testing in RiverViews state-of-the-art cardiac stress lab, where one or two-day stress tests are performed. A stress test shows how your heart works during physical activity. Because exercise makes your heart pump harder and faster, an exercise stress test can reveal blood flow problems within your heart.

The test involves walking on a treadmill while heart rhythm, blood pressure, and breathing are monitored. Patients with difficulty walking have pharmaceutical stress tests where they receive a drug that mimics the effects of exercise. Pharmaceutical stress tests are performed with the patient lying down during the entire test.

Internal Medicine providers Drs. Bosun Fashoro or Maneesh Kanal are present for every test and interpret EKG results from the treadmill or pharmaceutical portion of the test. A radiologist interprets the image scans of the heart, while registered respiratory therapists, registered nurses, and certified nuclear medicine technologists complete the team. Test data is sent to the provider who ordered the test, and who then shares the results with the patient.

A provider may recommend a stress test if the patient has signs or symptoms of coronary artery disease or an irregular heart rhythm. The test may also guide treatment decisions, measure the effectiveness of treatment, or determine the severity if you have already been diagnosed with a heart condition.

RiverView has been offering cardiac stress testing since the early 1990s, according to Sorum, who said about 200 tests are performed at the Crookston facility every year.

The equipment and personnel have changed over the years, but the attention to personalized patient care has remained a focus, she says. With the advent of electronic medical records, a cardiac stress test can be performed locally and transferred electronically, essentially anywhere.

Its a safe test and convenient to have it done at our local hospital, Sorum continued. All you have to do is ask to stay close to home.

For more information on stress testing, ask your provider or call RiverViews Rehab Services at 281.9463.

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RiverView Health marks Cardiac Rehabilitation Week - Crookston Daily Times