If you live with or are recovering from a heart (cardiac) or lung (pulmonary) disease or disorder, the Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center offers you a combination of monitored exercise, education, nutritional counseling, and support to help you improve your function and quality of life. With your committed participation, we can help you reach your best possible level of physical function.
Supervised, Personalized Therapy
We understand you may feel hesitant about embarking on an exercise program and concerned about how it may affect your health. Through our program, you'll receive therapy addressing your physical health, activities of daily living, and recreation needs in a safe, supportive, and monitored environment. We'll carefully assess you and your health to design a rehabilitation regimen that meets your individual needs and helps you achieve benefits such as:
- Improved strength, endurance, and flexibility
- Less breathlessness
- More ease in performing the activities of daily living
- Increased energy to partake in hobbies, family activities, and social events
We also provide education and support in lifestyle modification, disease prevention, and weight management.
Your Lifestyle Medicine Physician
You will meet with our Rehabilitation Medicine physician who specializes in lifestyle medicine, who can teach you proven strategies to reduce your risk of disease and improve your health. Our physician will also monitor your progress in therapy, address any medical issues that may arise, and communicate with your cardiologist or pulmonologist as needed.
A Comprehensive Rehabilitation Program
Your rehabilitation program will include physical therapy. Physical therapists help you get moving, reduce your pain, restore your function, and prevent disability. Your physical therapist will show you what to do during each session, but it is important for you to do “homework” exercises to fully benefit from the treatment.
Education and Support
You'll learn about the latest treatments and prevention strategies for heart and lung disorders. We provide support every step of the way to help you better understand your health and how you can maintain it. Once you graduate from the program, you may choose to continue in our maintenance program for ongoing therapy and support. We also offer a monthly pulmonary rehabilitation support group, where you can gain support and knowledge from other patients like you.