JUST eight weeks ago Paul DeAraugo suffered a severe heart attack.
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But he is already back on the bike, participating in a potentially life-saving cardiac rehabilitation program.
Less than one-third of heart attack survivors attend cardiac rehabilitation programs in Australia.
But studies show heart attack survivors who have participated in a cardiac rehabilitation program are 40 per cent less likely to be readmitted to hospital and 25 per cent less likely to die from another heart attack.
Research from the Heart Foundation also shows that if 65 per cent of people who had suffered a heart attack went into such a program, $43.4 million would be saved and there would be 2650 fewer heart attack admissions to hospital over five years in Victoria.
Under the cardiac rehabilitation program at Bendigo Health, patients have weekly appointments at the hospital where they exercise and talk with healthcare professionals.
Mr DeAraugo said having a heart attack “knocked the wind out of your sails”, but under the program he had rebuilt his confidence because of the opportunity to exercise under the supervision of healthcare professionals.
Since his heart attack, Mr DeAraugo has stopped smoking, started exercising more and begun watching his diet.
“I’m learning the meaning of moderation,” he said.
Cardiac rehabilitation co-ordinator Carmel Bourne said the program aimed to help heart attack patients get used to their “new normal”.
As a heart attack survivor himself, Mr DeAraugo said he believed rehabilitation was important for survivors to learn to get on with life again.
Under the program, patients undergo a full medical assessment and exercise test, and the rehabilitation team also looks at their medication and how they take it.
Cardiac rehabilitation co-ordinator Deb McCluskey said the service aimed to follow up with heart attack survivors within two weeks of the event.
Physiotherapist Anne McIntosh said the 12-week rehabilitation program focused on behavioural change and lifestyle modification.
This includes such factors as exercise, diet and stress management, as well as pain management.
The patient’s risk factors for heart disease and heart attacks are also examined.
For Mr DeAraugo, smoking, stress, high blood pressure and a family history were risk factors that potentially contributed to his heart attack.
As well as preventing potential further suffering for heart attack victims, cardiac rehabilitation also has economic benefits.
Heart Foundation Victoria chief executive officer Diana Heggie said a heart attack cost about $30,000 in healthcare, compared to $885 for a person to attend cardiac rehabilitation.
On the day of his heart attack, Mr DeAraugo said he noticed pain in his upper body – which he put down to a back injury – and pain down the back of his arms.
He said it came and went throughout the day as he went about his normal business, but by 1am the next morning it became so excruciating he was forced to call an ambulance.
It was discovered he had blockage in an artery in his heart.
Mr DeAraugo urged people experiencing symptoms of a heart attack to seek help immediately.
Symptoms are broad and can vary between individuals, but they may include pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, chest, shoulders, back or arms, numbness or tingling in the arms, dizziness, nausea, a cold sweat or shortness of breath.