Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and
Vascular Rehabilitation
Vascular Rehabilitation
 If you experience pain in your calves or thighs after walking
short distances, you may have lower extremity vascular disease
and benefit from vascular rehabilitation. A vascular rehabilitation
program is a twelve-week program of exercise and education
aimed at stabilizing and improving your symptoms and increasing
your knowledge of risk factors associated with this disease
How the Program Works
Exercise training three days a week will help you increase pain-free
walking and decrease claudication pain. Initial vascular studies
and a progressive treadmill-walking test are needed prior to program
entrance and are ordered by your referring physician. Vital signs
and pain assessment are evaluated throughout the exercise sessions.
Treadmill walking, cardiovascular conditioning and strength training
exercises will progress gradually over twelve weeks.
Education includes podiatric concerns and understanding claudication
symptoms, as well as risk factor education associated with vascular
disease. At discharge, baseline testing will be repeated and progress
will be forwarded to your referring physician with a recommendation
to continue in a maintenance program. Exercise training to relieve
symptoms of claudication is a lifelong commitment if it is to be
an alternative to surgery.
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