Cardiac Rehabilitation is a customised outpatient program of exercise and education. The program is designed to help you improve your health and recover from a heart attack or other forms of heart disease or surgery to treat heart disease.
It is a supervised program that includes education about healthy living, including how to eat healthily, take medicine as prescribed, and quit smoking and counselling to find ways to relieve stress and improve mental health.
Universities and colleges in Ireland are offering courses in Cardiac Rehabilitation and other related subjects in the following subject areas:
There are many courses in Cardiac Rehabilitation that may take place over a few days, weeks or even 1 year to 4 years depending on the course and modules selected. There are also part-time courses and night courses available so you can be sure to fit in your studies no matter what your schedule is like.
Courses will cover theory work through lectures, assignments, tutorials and taught modules. Assessments will take place on a continuous basis with written examinations and practical assignments combined in order to achieve a qualification.
You could also consider work experience or a work shadow in the industry. You may find it useful to work shadow a clinical scientist working in cardiac sciences to gain a more thorough understanding of the job role. Contact the cardiac department at your local hospital to try to arrange a visit.
Alternatively, you could consider some general volunteering, for example on a hospital ward, to give you an insight into what it's like to work in a hospital setting and to show your commitment. You could also work as a healthcare assistant or do some paid or voluntary work in a care setting, for example in a care home or hospice.
Work Experience will not only give you the opportunity to obtain a deeper knowledge and understanding of the industry, it will also give you a chance to do some essential networking with other industry professionals and gain valuable contacts for the future.
After completing a Cardiac Rehabilitation course you will be able to get started in a career that uses specific knowledge of cardiac science and biology and a variety of technical and medical diagnostic procedures to assess patients' cardiac function.
As a clinical scientist working in cardiac science, you'll have direct contact with patients of all ages who have known or suspected heart disease. You'll carry out complex diagnostic, monitoring and analytical tests and will also be involved in interventional procedures such as pacemaker implantation.
The main employer of clinical scientists working in cardiac sciences is cardiology departments. Trainees are usually employed by teaching hospitals. You'll work as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team including anaesthetists, cardiologists, healthcare science practitioners, nurses, operating department practitioners, radiographers and surgeons.
Opportunities also exist with private healthcare providers, organisations that provide cardiac screening services and universities, for example in a research or teaching role. If you decide to progress into academic or research roles within a university setting, you'll need to get your research published in a relevant journal and present it at conferences.
There are opportunities to move into clinical research or to get involved in training and registration assessments. You can also develop your career by getting involved with professional bodies, taking on external professional roles or moving into a consultancy role. It's also possible to move into industry as a clinical applications specialist, working on behalf of a company that sells cardiac diagnostic equipment, for example.
Working hours will depend on whether you are self-employed, employed by a facility with set business hours or if you are contracted to various businesses or companies. You will usually work a 37.5 hour week, which may include shift/on-call work.
After completing a course in Cardiac Rehabilitation you may choose to pursue further study in a specialist field to increase your knowledge base and skill set. Postgraduate study can also be used as a means to change career focus or to gain professional qualifications required to practise in certain career areas such as Physiotherapy, Therapy or Personal Training.
What conditions can benefit from Cardiac Rehabilitation?
Cardiac rehabilitation is an option for people with many forms of heart disease. In particular, you might benefit from cardiac rehabilitation if your medical history includes:
What does Cardiac Rehabilitation typically include?
Medical evaluation - A health care team will generally perform an initial evaluation to check physical abilities, medical limitations and any other conditions.
Physical activity - Cardiac rehabilitation can improve cardiovascular fitness through physical activity. A health care team will likely suggest low impact activities that have a lower risk of injuries, such as walking, cycling, rowing, jogging and yoga.
Lifestyle education - This involves support and education on making healthy lifestyle changes, such as eating a heart-healthy diet, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight and quitting smoking.
It can include guidance about managing conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity.
Support - Adjusting to a serious health problem often takes time and it is important to have support.
Counselling can help with learning healthy ways to cope with depression and other feelings. Vocational or occupational therapy can teach skills to help you return to work.
Explore your options here
