Cardiac Rehabilitation Specialist Nurse team
We aim to support people and their families following recent heart attacks or expected cardiac interventions such as stents or internal defibrillators. We also provide support for people prior to and following heart surgery.
To learn more about the elements of the service we offer please click on the links opposite.
Our team compromises of cardiac rehab specialist nurses, a healthcare support worker and administration support and we work alongside the wider community nurse specialist team.
We are also supported by the physiotherapists to run our cardiac rehab exercise classes and have access to several of the multi-disciplinary teams.
Please be informed that we now accept referrals via our email account:Â anhsft.cardiacservices@nhs.net.
Contact number: 01535 294557
If you are a cardiac rehab patient, please watch this video made by our cardiac rehab team for helpful information
| Job role | Name |
| Cardiac rehab Clinical Lead | Nicola Drake |
| Cardiac rehab Specialist Nurses | Diane Allum-Spencer, Debbie Moses, Donna Outhwaite, Louise Hofman |
| Healthcare Support Worker | Cherie Melvin |
| Administration support | Debbie Meegan |
Symptom management
Within the cardiac rehabilitation service our specialist nurses will aim to help patients understand their symptoms with an aim to self-management and improved quality of life. To learn more about possible symptoms that may be related to your heart please click on the following links.
Angina
To learn more about Angina please click here.
Shortness of breath
This can be for many reasons, and before you worry consider why you are short of breath. Have you just exercised? Or exerted yourself? If so, it can be normal to be out of breath. To learn more please click here.
Leg and ankle swelling (Oedema)
Many people get some element of ankle swelling when they have been on their feet all day, it can be nothing to worry about. To learn a little more about what do about it and whether you need to seek further help please click here.
Dizziness
To learn more about dizziness please click here.
Tiredness
To learn more about tiredness please click here.
Cold hands and feet
It can be normal to have cold hands and feet if you are on beta blockers. If so take measures to wrap up warmly, such as thicker socks and gloves. If you have cold hands or feet, and one is different to the other, is pale, painful, a strange colour then you need to see a doctor.
Erectile dysfunction
To learn more about erectile dysfunction please click here.
Risk factor assessment
The cardiac rehabilitation nurses offer our patients a risk factor assessment in order to help people identify areas of their lives that may be improved upon. Such changes can improve their heart health. To understand more about cardiac risk factors please click here.
Lifestyle advice and goal setting
Within the cardiac rehab service we offer out patients the opportunity to discuss personal goals, whether that is to return to playing golf or to get back to work, we can help people to realise these goals in a structured and timely way.
We offer healthy lifestyle advice for our patients and families because this helps further reduce health problems in the future. We do this by several methods, we run a healthy heart programme, we see patients in clinics or at their own homes and can provide booklets or advice on an individual basis on lifestyle matters such as healthy eating, exercise or anything else that the patient feels is important to them.
You can learn more about healthy lifestyle choices here.
Healthy Heart Programme
We offer an education programme designed to help people improve their heart health and to help empower them to feel confident to self manage their heart conditions.
We invite our patients and their partners or relatives to attend up to three sessions on three separate days that are run at Airedale Hospital, in the Education Centre. The sessions last for two hours and take place in a group.
We have guest speakers including dieticians, psychologists, voluntary agencies and pharmacists and hope that the sessions have an interactive feel about them with plenty of opportunity for people to ask questions over a cup of tea or coffee.
It is now possible to receive the healthy heart information that is discussed at these face-to-face sessions virtually. Alternatively, if you are known to the cardiac rehab team please speak with your nurse for bespoke sessions and or written information booklets that can be posted to your home.
Please select from the following options:
For Healthy heart information written webpages:
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/risk-factors
For Healthy heart verbal and visual pre-recorded presentations to watch:
https://www.healtheuniversity.ca/EN/CardiacCollege/Pages/learn-online.aspx
For resuscitation guidance including interactive videos:
https://www.resus.org.uk/public-resource
For how to monitor your own blood pressure please watch this short film from the British Heart Foundation:
Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Programmes
We offer cardiac rehabilitation exercise classes at 3 venues, Airedale Hospital, Keighley Leisure Centre, and in Skipton at Gargrave Village Hall.
The aim of the exercise programme is to improve overall health and wellbeing and reduces the risk of future heart problems.
They are coordinated by the cardiac rehab specialist nurses and the physiotherapists and are run in groups of between 10 – 15 people. The exercises are cardiovascular and include a warm up and cool down session. We assess fitness before and after the programme by means of a walk test. The programme can last up to 8 weeks with 2 sessions each week.
We also offer the option of a home based exercise programme, and this can be organised either by use of a exercise DVD specifically for heart patients or the heart manual which is a 6 week self led programme which is supported by a cardiac rehab specialist nurse.
Once the exercise programme is completed there is the opportunity to continue with similar exercise classes that are run in the community independently or alternatively we can provide information of other exercise and social activities within the area.
Home visits, clinic appointments and telephone contacts
As much as possible we aim to offer flexibility in where and how patients use our service. We can usually offer home visits, clinic appointments (held at both Airedale Hospital and Skipton Hospital) and contact over the telephone. Our exercise sessions are located at Keighley Leisure Centre, Gargrave Village Hall in Skipton and at Airedale Hospital.
The Healthy Heart programme is based at Airedale Hospital in the education centre.
Our service strives to offer an individualised package of care that suits the needs of the patients and we will do our best to tailor the service around the specific needs of the patient.
Access to multidisciplinary teams
Within the cardiac rehabilitation service we are able to assess the need for other multidisciplinary health professionals and if needed access these services.
These services include dieticians, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, smoking cessation nurses and heart failure specialist nurses.
We are also working to improve links between voluntary agencies and other independent service providers that are related to heart health. These services include health champions and exercise instructors that specialise in heart conditions. The cardiac support group assist with our healthy heart programme and are available to talk with people who feel they need some extra support.
