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[Music]
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this video will provide you with some
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facts about the disease in your heart
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arteries called coronary artery disease
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and heart attack understanding how your
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heart works and how to look after it can
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make a big difference to your recovery
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the heart is a powerful muscular pump
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that drives blood around your body to
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keep your heart healthy it needs to get
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a good supply of blood containing oxygen
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from the coronary arteries at Birth your
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arteries are wide open but over the
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years fatty dep it can lead to plaque
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buildup in the walls known as coronary
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heart disease for some people this
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process happens without causing any
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symptoms but for others narrow arteries
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can cause symptoms of angina or
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potentially lead to a heart attack the
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extent and severity of the disease will
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vary from person to
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person
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angina if you have coronary heart
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disease arteries can narrow so that they
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no longer supply enough blood for the
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demands of the heart muscle this may
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cause you to experience the pain or
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discomfort of angina
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angina usually occurs with exertion when
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the narrowed arteries cannot deliver
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enough oxygen inrich blood to meet the
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demands of the heart muscle at that time
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but it can also very rarely occur when
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you are arresting although angina is
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caused by an inadequate blood flow to
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the heart muscle there is still a flow
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of blood and therefore the heart muscle
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is not
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damaged heart
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attack acute chary syndrome is a
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clinical term describing either a heart
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attack or unstable angina a heart attack
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occurs when the the plaque in the
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narrowed arteries is damaged or inflamed
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a crack appears in the artery lining and
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the blood clot forms around this area
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blocking the artery completely and
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starving the heart of oxygen this causes
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damage to the heart muscle the symptoms
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of a heart attack vary widely from
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severe pain in the center of the chest
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to mild chest discomfort it is often
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described as an ache discomfort
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heaviness pressure tightness a
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restriction or sometimes just a feeling
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of being short of breath pain or
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discomfort may be felt in the chest but
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could also travel up into the neck
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throat or jaw pain can also be felt in
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one or both arms and also in the back
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between the shoulder blades other
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symptoms you may experience whilst
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having a heart attack include being
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sweaty feeling light headed or feeling
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or being sick if you think you are
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having a heart attack call 999
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immediately dialing 999 and obtaining
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medical assistance as quickly as
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possible can save your life and will
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greatly reduce the risk of damage to
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Your Heart during a heart attack then
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may be a serious disturbance in the
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heart rhythm that could be
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life-threatening and could lead to the
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risk of cardiac arrest this is when the
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heart stops pumping and resuscitation is
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needed straight away a cardiac arrest
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needs immediate medical treatment and
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sometimes an electric shock is delivered
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this is known as defibrillation and can
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be successful in restoring a normal
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heartbeat if this happened to you please
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ask your nurse for further information
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not all cardiac arrests occur as a
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result of a heart attack after a heart
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attack and treatment the area of damaged
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heart muscle recovers over a 2 to 3mon
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period but an area of scar tissue May
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remain many people ask will I have
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another heart attack there are no
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guarantees for anyone but once the first
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few days are over the chances of having
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another heart attack are reduced and
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become less as time goes on adopting a
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healthy lifestyle and taking the
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prescribed medication will reduce the
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risk
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tests this video takes a look at the
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most common test you will have if
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brought into a hospital with a suspected
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heart attack or acute coronary syndrome
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when you arrive at hospital or when the
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paramedics are called to you and a heart
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attack is suspected the paramedic doctor
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or nurse will be looking for signs that
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the blood clot has completely blocked or
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is partially blocking one of your
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coronary
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arteries coronary angiogram you may be
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required to have a coronary angiogram
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this test involves looking inside the
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coronary arteries for disease a small
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tube is placed into your artery through
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your wrist or groin a fine tube is
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passed through until it reaches the
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arteries of the heart
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a special Dy that shows up on x-rays is
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injected through the tube into the
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coronary arteries it's filmed using an
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X-ray camera placed over your chest the
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images are shown on an X-ray screen and
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will show any narrowing or blockages in
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the coronary arteries in the case of a
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heart attack often an angioplasty and
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stent insertion is performed during the
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angiogram a catheter tube with a small
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balloon and a fine mesh tube called a
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stent on the end is inserted through
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your artery up into the coronary artery
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when the balloon reaches the narrowing
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it is is inflated so that it squashes
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the fatty tissue against the artery wall
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the stunt is pushed open with the
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inflation of the balloon and beds into
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the artery lining to hold the vessel
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open allowing an oxygen-rich blood
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supply to return to the heart
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muscle echo
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cardiogram we know a heart attack can
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cause some damage to the heart muscle so
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to understand whether the heart function
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has been weakened we perform a test
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called an
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echocardiogram an echo cardiogram is
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simply a scan of the heart
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this test requires a probe to be pushed
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against the left side of your chest
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covered in a special gel and shows where
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the areas of the heart muscle have
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reduced pumping function as a result of
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the heart attack the good news is that
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after a heart attack the healing process
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begins quickly Scar Tissue May develop
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in the damaged area this takes around 4
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to 6 weeks and it is important that your
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heart is given recovery time to allow
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this process to
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happen
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medication after a heart attack you will
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be prescribed several types of
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medications to go home with taking these
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medications as prescribed is important
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for reducing your risk of having another
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heart attack antiplatelets include
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aspirin clipid gril tagore antiplatelets
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work by making your blood less sticky
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meaning blood clots can't form as well
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these drugs are important in preventing
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clots in your arteries where stents may
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have been placed and also in preventing
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a future heart attack aspirin is usually
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taken lifelong your second antiplatelet
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will only be needed for a certain period
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of time which is usually 12 months the
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ace inhibitor reduces the amount of
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fluid the heart has to pump around your
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body so your heart doesn't have to work
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so hard your heart attack may have
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caused some damage to your heart
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weakening its function the ace inhibitor
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helps to slow down the progression of
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this damage the Statin reduces the
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amount of cholesterol that your body
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makes and helps to reduce buildup of
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fatty deposits in your arteries so
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statins reduce the risk of having a
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further heart attack and are beneficial
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even when your cholesterol is at a
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normal level the beta blockers such as
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by isopor slow the heart down and help
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to maintain a regular steady heartbeat
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this means your heart doesn't have to
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work so hard and also helps to reduce
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your blood pressure the gtn spray widens
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the heart arteries for a brief period to
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reduce chest pain if you have been
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prescribed this you should carry this
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with you at all times and take it as
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advised by your nurse or pharmacist with
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the exception of the second antiplatelet
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all of these medications are usually
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longterm they are known as secondary
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prevention medications and hence
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important for a healthy heart you may
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experience side effects on your
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medications but it is important to
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consult with a doctor or pharmacist
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before deciding to stop any of your
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medications these medicines are to help
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your heart recover so that you can
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return to living a normal life as soon
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as possible your nurse or pharmacist can
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provide you with more information about
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your medications before you are
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discharged
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emotions all illnesses are stressful but
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if you've had a cardiac event you are
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likely to feel frightened and anxious
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coming to terms with a heart attack can
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take time you you might feel frightened
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that it may happen again or be worried
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about not being able to do as much as
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you did before particularly in the early
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stages of recovery you might question
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why this has happened to you and feel
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that it's not fair these are quite
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normal reactions you can expect to have
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good and bad
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days if you are experiencing some of
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these emotions it's important to talk
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about them with someone if it's fear for
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the future or you think you are anxious
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or depressed talk to your GP or your
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cardiac Rehabilitation team they will be
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able to support you and refer you for
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psychological support finding out more
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about your condition the treatment
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you've had and your recovery can help
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relieve anxiety about your situation and
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may be able to set your mind at ease
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this is one of the benefits of attending
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a cardiac rehabilitation program
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learning to recognize your own symptoms
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of stress and its causes are the first
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step towards managing it effectively for
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many people recovery from a heart attack
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gives them an opportunity to step back
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and reassess their lives some people
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have been living a healthy lifestyle
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already and may feel that is not wor
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continuing however it is likely that
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without this healthy lifestyle the
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damage caused by the heart attack would
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have been much worse so it is well worth
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continuing for others you have a chance
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to make positive changes to your
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lifestyle so that you can look forward
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to a better quality of life in the
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future going
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home most people look forward to leaving
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hospital and going home but the first
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few weeks after a heart attack can be an
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anxious time many people wonder if they
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will have another heart attack
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unfortunately having one heart heart
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attack does increase your risk of having
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another however if you take the
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medication that you've been prescribed
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and if you follow a healthy lifestyle
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you can dramatically reduce that risk
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many people find they Tire very easily
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in the early stages after a heart attack
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this is normal and will usually pass as
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your strength and confidence return
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there is no hard and fast rule about how
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quickly you will return to normal
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everyone is different during the first
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few days after going home try to do some
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household activities go up and
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downstairs a few times a day and do some
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short walks
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as the weeks go by aim to do a little
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more and go a bit further each
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day it's natural to feel a bit nervous
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about exercising after a heart attack
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but remember the heart is a muscle and
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like any other muscle in the body it
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needs
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exercise exercise will keep your heart
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in good condition getting out into the
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fresh air and doing some deep breathing
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exercises will help you feel better and
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lift your spirits during your recovery
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at home you'll have a chance to think
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about your lifestyle there may be some
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areas that you'll want to change to
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reduce the risk of another heart attack
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for some people life after a heart
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attack can feel better than
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before risk
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factors there are several risk factors
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which are known to put people at a
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higher risk of developing coronary
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artery disease some risk factors you
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can't control such as family history age
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gender and ethnicity however many risk
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factors are related to Lifestyle and can
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be controlled these include smoking
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eating on unhealthy diet and not
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exercising enough if you are a smok
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smoker no matter how long you've smoked
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for quitting can help improve your
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health straight away stopping smoking is
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the single most important step you can
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take to reduce your risk of having a
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heart attack smokers are almost twice as
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likely to have a heart attack as people
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who have never smoked there is support
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available to help you quit you can ask
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your GP or local pharmacist for advice
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and support the most important thing to
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remember is to aim for a healthy
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balanced diet including eating more
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fruit and vegetables you should cut down
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on saturated fat sugar and salt to get
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the vitamins and minerals your body
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needs you should aim to eat a variety of
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at least five portions of fruit and
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vegetables a day they can be fresh
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frozen dried or canned along with fruit
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and vegetables bread potatoes rice pasta
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or cereals should make up the main part
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of your meal and wherever possible try
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to eat whole grain varieties try to
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include oats beans and pulses in your
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diet as these along with fruit and
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vegetables contain fiber which helps
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lower chest our levels try to cut back
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on things like cakes biscuits and
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pastries which are higher in saturated
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fats you can also lower saturated fats
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by including lowfat dairy products in
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your diet rather than full fat however
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be aware of lowfat products that are
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high in sugar high sugar intake is
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another risk factor for heart disease
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and can lead to excessive calorie intake
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weight gain and raised levels of blood
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fats a lot of people enjoy drinking
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alcohol there's no reason why you should
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deprive yourself of the odd glass as
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long as you avoid excess to keep health
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risk from alcohol to a low level you
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should drink no more than 14 units a
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week for both men and women keep
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consumption to a maximum of 2 to three
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units a day physical activity is great
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for your heart it helps to reduce the
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risk of coronary heart disease lowers
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blood pressure improves cholesterol
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levels and helps manage weight you
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should aim to build up to 150 minutes of
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moderate intensive activity a week an
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example of moderate intensive activity
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is brisk walking one way of managing to
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do 50 minutes of exercise a week is to
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be active for 30 minutes a day at least
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five times per week if you are not used
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to being active then start slowly and
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gradually build up to 150 minutes a week
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over time sessions of 10 minutes at a
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time are a good way to start and walking
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is an ideal activity to begin
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with each time you do any physical
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activity it's very important that you
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warm up first this will prepare your
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muscles and hard for exercise cool down
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after exercise at the end don't stop
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suddenly and instead spend some time
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slowing down gradually don't do physical
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activity if you feel unwell and stop
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exercising if you're in pain or feel
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dizzy these are abnormal responses to
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our exercise and may be a result of
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overdoing it you should discuss any of
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these responses with your GP or cardiac
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Rehabilitation team ultimately exercise
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should be a habit for Life try to find
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something that you enjoy doing so that
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it will be easier to keep
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going cardiac
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Rehabilitation cardiac rehabilitation
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programs are designed to offer support
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in making lifestyle changes as well as
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helping people build confidence so they
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can resume the activities they enjoyed
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before the types of service will vary
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depending on the area you live in and
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the type of event you have had some
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Services may offer telephone helpline or
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online support programs but most
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programs will offer face-to-face
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group-based exercise and education
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classes cardiac Rehabilitation is
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offered to everyone diagnosed with a
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heart attack but programs vary for other
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cardiac conditions if you are un sure
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please ask your nurse cardiac
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Rehabilitation is as much a part of your
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treatment plan as your medicines it also
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aims to give you the information you
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need to look after your heart health and
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to keep you well in the future going to
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a cardiac rehab exercise program is a
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good way of making sure you start
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exercising at a level that is safe and
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effective for you when you come to the
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end of the program it's important to
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make sure you continue to make time to
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be physically active on a regular basis
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you'll be offered the option to be
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referred onto your local cardiac fitness
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instructor Leed class your cardiac
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Rehabilitation team can provide further
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information about this service thank you
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for watching we hope this video supports
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you on your road to recovery