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Date issued: September 2022

For review: September 24

Ref: A-426/Cardiology/SB/Plymouth, South Hams and West Devon Cardiac rehab v3

PDF: Plymouth, South Hams and West Devon cardiac rehab final August 2019.pdf[pdf] 439KB

The First Few Days

Now that you have been discharged from Derriford Hospital, your ward will refer you to the  Community Cardiac Rehabilitation team.

Once the Community Cardiac Rehabilitation Team have received your referral, (which is usually within a week of discharge. if you meet   referral criteria, they will contact you by telephone. During this telephone call the nurse can answer any questions you may have had since leaving the hospital and give you advice if you so wish.

If you do not answer then they will leave a telephone message.

You will then receive an invitation to have an appointment with one of their  Specialist Cardiac Nurses on the phone, in clinic or in certain special situations at your home .

If you do not feel ready for this appointment you will be given the opportunity to call the department within a few weeks, once you feel ready to start with your rehabilitation.

Your Initial Appointment

Your assessment appointment with the Cardiac nurse will consist of the following:

• Review of medical history

• Review of past and any current symptoms

• Lifestyle advice

• Physical Activity/ Exercise advice

At this appointment the Cardiac Nurse will help you decide whether you wish to enroll in a structured exercise programme. This decision will also be influenced by your current health status in addition to whether you have any pending investigations or treatment.

The waiting time for the exercise support  may vary and your nurse can guide you on this when you speak.

You will also be offered the opportunity to attend our online weekly education programme, which runs every Tuesday afternoon at 3pm. This add further detail to your knowledge of your heart and is also an opportunity to ask questions.

Exercise Programme

If deemed suitable by your nurse, you can be invited to join our exercise programme.

This could take the form of a group exercise class, or exercise at home, supported with weekly reviews.

Either option will start with an assessment with a nurse and an exercise physiologist. You will be assessed via careful questioning and a short exercise test so an exercise programme can be tailored to your needs. 

You will then either start the 6 week exercise group class, or be supported to exercise at home  via regular phone calls from our exercise specialist and visual or written information as well.

You will be  assessed on your progress, be able to ask questions and be given a plan for how to continue your exercise in the long term.

Our one-off assessments are at:

YMCA, Honicknowle, Plymouth

Modbury Pavillion, Modbury

Horrabridge youth hut, Horrabridge.

Phase Four

Once you have completed your exercise and   education programme you will be given a home programme to help you continue exercising independently in addition to an  activity booklet.

You will then be offered Phase IV of your Cardiac Rehabilitation which, for a small charge, you can attend further exercise classes, led by a suitably qualified Exercise Instructor.

Once you have discussed the available options and developed a discharge plan with the Rehabilitation Nurse, the team will send a discharge letter to your GP outlining any ongoing health concerns and future exercise/activity plans.

This will then ensure that your GP is up to date in the event of any future concerns or queries.

Useful Contact Numbers

If you need any further advice then you can contact the following numbers:

Cardiac Rehabilitation Team: 01752 434521

Smoking Quitline: 0800 00 22 00

Drinkline: 0300 123 1110

AlcoholicsAnonymous: 0800 9177 650

DAS (Depression and anxiety service): 01626 203500

Plymouth Options: plymouthoptions@nhs.net  and 01752 435419

Heartswell: 01752 315929 and info@heartswell.org.uk 

Your local GP surgery