Intensive Cardiac Rehab — A Healthier Future Through Lifestyle Education

Doylestown Hospital is now offering Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehab (ICR), a comprehensive, medically supervised exercise and lifestyle change program for people who have heart disease or have experienced a cardiac event or surgery. Pritikin ICR is Medicare-approved and proven to reduce the need for coronary bypass surgery, may increase the chance of reversing the progression of heart disease, and may lower risk factors for coronary artery disease.

"Cardiac rehabilitation teaches you about your condition and how to reduce risk factors, helping you to build lifelong skills and behaviors,” says Dr. Stephen Sloan, Medical Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation, a cardiologist who specializes in heart rhythm disorders. “Our Cardiac Rehab nurses and exercise physiologists track each patient’s performance and progress, and the combination of monitored exercise and education helps keep people in optimal physical shape and out of the hospital.”

Benefits of Intensive Cardiac Rehab

"We're excited to have more tools to help patients move ahead to enjoy a good quality of life today and into the future," says David Martens, Clinical Manager of Cardiac Rehab at Doylestown Health. “By joining forces with Pritikin, we can support our patients with in-depth, consistent, evidence-based educational programming that is frequently updated.” While our previous program of traditional cardiac rehab was limited to 36 sessions focused more on exercise, Intensive Cardiac Rehab offers 72 sessions, allowing more time for education along with exercise.

The Pritikin ICR program improves cardiovascular health by teaching skills based on three pillars: 

• Safe, effective exercise
• Heart-healthy nutrition
• A healthy mind-set

More Lifestyle Education

“Our patients told us they wanted to learn more about how to plan and prepare heart-healthy meals," says David. "Pritikin ICR offers extensive nutrition education and a balanced eating plan based on nutrient-dense, low-sodium foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and a moderate amount of animal protein. The recipes use a variety of seasonings to flavor foods instead of relying on salt, which should be limited.”

Our own Cardiac Rehab team members and registered dietitian present live workshops, and we offer remote cooking demonstrations with Pritikin dietitians and chefs. “There's a big screen for the patients to watch and the instructor can see the audience and take questions,” explains David, noting that family members are encouraged to attend for motivation and support.

The Cardiac Rehabilitation Program is located in the modern Cardiovascular and Critical Care Pavilion. Also located here is the heart-healthy One Vision Café where our chefs prepare the recipes so patients can taste test the meals.

Exercise and Education in One Visit

“Patients are giving us a lot of positive feedback. The format allows them to build camaraderie because we hold classes in the gym between exercise sessions,” says David. “This makes it easier for patients to accomplish an exercise and education session in one visit.”

Maintaining Exercise After Cardiac Rehab

You can continue your rehabilitation progress by participating in Heart Strong. The program is a collaboration between Doylestown Health and community gyms to help keep you fit with prescribed exercises from your cardiac rehab team.

Engaging, Fun Programs

We promote mental health, heart-healthy nutrition, and overall wellness through workshops, cooking classes, and one-to-one sessions with a registered dietitian and other members of our team. Each participant receives a tote bag with a guidebook of recipes and many other resources. 

Learn More

For more information, call Cardiac Rehabilitation at 215.345.2390, or visit Doylestown Health Cardiac Rehabilitation or Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation.