Comprehensive Preventive Care from a Team of Cardiovascular Experts
If you have heart or vascular issues – or are at risk for either – the prevention and rehabilitation services offered at the University of Michigan can improve your quality of life and give you a better rate of survival. We provide unique and comprehensive approaches to maximize cardiovascular health with everything and everyone you need all in one convenient location.
While prevention and rehabilitation programs are common at hospitals around the country, having such a comprehensive program is not so common. From stress management specialists and exercise physiologists to dietitians and nurse practitioners, you have access to our multidisciplinary team of experts for help modifying any aspect of your lifestyle to improve your health.
Prevention Doctors with Specialty Training
Our physicians are some of the most well known and respected in the field of cardiovascular disease prevention in the U.S. All are certified in internal medicine and have specialty training in cardiology, vascular medicine or endocrinology. While each is a prevention specialist, some have a special focus on women's health, vascular medicine, hypertension, obesity, metabolic syndrome and lipid disorders. Working together as a health-care team, they are actively involved in patient care, education and research.
Our cardiology nurses and nurse practitioners have extensive training in cardiology and ambulatory-care nursing, each requiring a minimum of four years of cardiology experience plus ICU experience before they are eligible to work in this program.
At our unique facility, everything required for early detection, prevention and rehabilitation is located under one roof, including:
- Clinical exam rooms
- Diagnostic testing for labs, vascular, cardiac ultrasound or echo-Doppler
- Exercise stress testing
- Cardiopulmonary fitness assessment
- Complete prevention and rehabilitation programs
- Complete care
Cardiovascular disease prevention includes early detection of coronary disease and other vascular diseases, risk assessment and individualized treatment strategies. We offer a variety of services, from weight-loss programs and stress management to smoking cessation and management of cholesterol and high blood pressure. A thorough evaluation will help us determine the best treatment program for your individual needs.
Cardiac Rehabilitation Through Exercise and Education
The Cardiac Rehabilitation Program provides medically monitored exercise under the supervision of certified exercise physiologists. After comprehensive evaluation and testing, an exercise physiologist will design an individualized exercise prescription and review personal goals for positive lifestyle changes.
Our educational program offers a unique opportunity to learn about lifestyle modification from the experts in the areas of nutrition therapy, stress reduction therapy and exercise. These educational classes are offered in a continuing weekly series and are conducted at the end of the exercise sessions.
The Peripheral Arterial Disease Walking Program consists of an exercise consult with exercise physiologist, a walking impairment questionnaire, education and a walking protocol. This program, which is not covered by insurance companies, incorporates monitored treadmill walking to increase the length of time you can walk before you get leg cramping or pain. You also receive access to our Fitness Center.
The Bridge Clinic assures a safe transition from inpatient care to outpatient care. Within 14 days of being discharged from the hospital, patients have an appointment at one of our bridge clinics, where they meet with a nurse practitioner, who conducts a thorough assessment, and ensures patients are on correct medications, have the proper cardiovascular resources needed, fully understand their role in their own care and have an appointment scheduled with their cardiologist. Our data has shown that patients who participate in the Bridge Clinic are at less risk for readmission to the hospital or Emergency Department visits (over 6 months) than those who don’t participate.
Our current clinical research for prevention and rehabilitation includes novel approaches to assess risk of heart attacks and strokes, the impact of psychosocial factors, cost-effective care, plus new drugs for lipid disorders and hypertension.