HEALTH: REHAB UNIT MONITORS MATTERS OF THE HEART

Walter Wright went in for a yearly checkup Oct. 17 never expecting to be taken in for heart surgery that same day.

"I told the doctor I had trouble breathing when I laid back," Wright said, recalling how the doctor ordered him to be tested on a treadmill. The troubling results led to an X-ray and, ultimately, surgery for the 74-year-old.

"I had a heart attack right there on the table during surgery," he said.

Even though Wright always swam in his backyard pool and maintained various rental properties, his heart was weak from clogged arteries.

"I was active," he said with a puzzled, yet matter-of-fact, shake of his head.

Since the surgery, Wright exercises an hour a day three times a week at the St. Francis Medical Center Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center.

He walks on a treadmill, rides a stationary bicycle and works his arms, all in an attempt to increase his heart rate to strengthen the muscle. It all happens under the watchful eyes of a team of nurses, exercise experts, physicians, dietitians and social workers.

Changes for life

Bernadette Huston, a registered nurse who works at the center, said the team's primary goal is to help patients improve their lifestyles.

"We try to help them as much as we can because if we don't they are going to be back in," she said. "We really care about these people. We take it to heart. We really care about what they're doing."

Once people have a heart attack, they are prone to have another one because the heart has been significantly weakened. That is why patients should get regular exercise and maintain a healthy diet, Huston said.

The dedication and expertise of the cardio-pulmonary rehab team recently led to the unit being the first in Southeast Missouri to be nationally certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

Only seven programs in Missouri are certified by the organization.

The center is used by cardiac patients, including people who have had chest pains, heart attacks, bypass surgery or heart failure, and pulmonary patients who have asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, emphysema or chronic lung diseases.

Nurses electronically and visually monitor patients' moves and beats of their hearts. If they see a patient is having problems, the exercise is stopped immediately, and nurses check the patient's condition.

Lois Schade works with pulmonary patients at the center to increase their lung capacities and control shortness of breath.

"They really do increase their ability to do things at home," she said. "They feel better. We just try to help them get their life back."

As he paused during a warm-down walk on the center's track, Wright said it has been a challenge to change his lifestyle through eating healthier food and getting regular, heart-strengthening exercise.

Working out with the cardio-pulmonary team makes it easier for him, he said.

"This has helped me considerably," he said. "There are some real nice nurses here. I'm going to keep coming back as long as they'll let me."

He also enjoys meeting other patients who are in similar situations.

Kenneth Breitweg, 57, of Swenton, Mo., works out at the Cardio-Pulmonary Center a few days a week. He had five heart bypasses on Sept. 26. He walks on a treadmill, rides an exercise bike and does stretching exercises.

"Before my surgery, I stayed pretty active, but I smoked and had a poor diet," he said, adding that he no longer smokes. "I feel a lot better now. My endurance is better."

Exercise motivation

Christine Stephens, 58, of Cape Girardeau, works out an hour a day three times a week at the center. She has diabetes -- a condition that leaves people particularly prone to heart problems, often because of diet limitations.

Stephens had triple bypass surgery on Sept. 28. She finds it easier to get motivated to work out at the center than to work out at home.

"You feel denial and anger about having to amend your habits and lifestyle," she said. "I keep thinking, I don't want to do it. I don't want to change,' but I think that's normal. I'm working my way through it."

Stephens also knows the alternative to changing her lifestyle is the potential for more heart problems.

"You get to a point where you realize this is going to have to be a regular routine," she said. "Otherwise, I'll be back in two years."

Inas Whittaker, 80, of Advance, Mo., recently had four heart bypasses. She said she neglected her exercise routine for a while before a nurse at the center called and prodded her to come back.

"I wasn't coming" to exercise, Whittaker said. "I didn't want to drive to Cape." Whittaker now works out twice a week.

"I won't do it at home," she said. "That's the reason I come here. I feel much better, and I would recommend it for anyone."

Whittaker said it has been difficult for her to change her lifestyle, but she discovered a trick.

"I treat this like a job," she said. "When it's time, I come up here, regardless of what I'm doing."

Beverley Kester, an exercise therapist at the center, watches computer monitors that display readouts of patients' heart rates and other information. She also helps patients learn to use the exercise equipment.

"We see a wide variety of people," she said. "It's good to see them improve while they're here. When they leave, they're moving faster, feeling better and having a better outlook."

Alice Irvine, 75, a self-proclaimed fast-food junkie and exercise-hater from Cape Girardeau, started coming to the center at the insistence of her family and doctor. She had heart surgery in August and began the rehab program in October.

"I hate exercise," she said, as she worked 40-pound weights with her legs. "I would much rather stay home and enjoy a good book."

But, Irvine admitted, she feels better mentally after exercising.

"These gals are wonderful," she said. "The first couple of weeks, I was amazed at how they watch you like a hawk. You look the slightest bit stressed and they're over here. They're remarkable."

Jerry Pridemore, 60, from Perryville, Mo., had a heart surgery two days before Thanksgiving in 1998. He smoked a pipe and has diabetes.

The workouts he gets at the center have improved his health considerably, and he said the program can't be beat.

"I try to walk when I'm at home, but it's not as effective as here," he said. "It does you good to come down here. I told my doctor I'm going to keep coming down here until they run me off."