The CardioFITr exercise & rehab programmes
We launched CardioFITr in December 2016 as a direct response to patient feedback suggesting a real demand for a specialised exercise programme targeting cardiovascular health. There was clearly a gap between generic group NHS exercise rehab programmes and gym based personal training (which is often not suitable for our patients). CardioFITr has been designed to compliment the modern medical cardiac and dietary services for a joined up universal management approach.
Exercise has been recurrently shown to be one of the most important factors for prevention of cardiovascular risk factors and rehabilitation/ long-term prognosis following a cardiovascular event or treatment (e.g. heart attack, angioplasty). Currently there is a big research focus in patients with atrial fibrillation, adding to the evidence base that in the majority of people this is a dietary and lifestyle related illness. The evidence suggests that improved fitness and weight loss results in a significant reduction in AF burden and recurrence.
By putting together a unique core team consisting of a Cardiologist, Cardiac Physiologist and an Athlete we have been able to create a new approach to evidence based exercise interventions for our patients. In additional a major distinguisher for a CardioFITr programme is the way we track data from multiple metrics to measure progress and improvement (this is not just about basic heart rate tracking, which is the usual industry approach).
Finally we are pleased to collaborate with our friends at Combe Grove Manor in Bath for our first CardioFITr site. A Bristol location is on the horizon and through our Combe Grove partnership we have established a philosophy - "this is not boot camp, 10 weeks to improve your health all in beautiful and relaxing surroundings".
What we are already seeing is that people get better - weight comes down, symptoms improve, blood pressure and cholesterol improve, medication burden and the need for escalating invasive medical treatments reduces. A very satisfying thing to observe for a team of healthcare professional that have been used to seeing the 'standard' medical approach.
You can read more about CardioFITr and the team here.
