The medical, nursing and physiotherapy professionals of the cardiology and rehabilitation services of OSI Uribe will constitute a working group to monitor the health of people who suffer or may suffer from cardiovascular disorders. Osakidetza aims to improve the quality of life, health and well-being of patients. To this end, a cardiac rehabilitation unit with eight patients will be set up in the hospital in Urduliz. The unit will start with four women and four men with a mean age of 58 years.

Attention will be divided into two sections, on the one hand, into twelve sessions of an educational nature. They will learn about the disease and explain what heart failure and ischemic heart disease are. To do so, they will work on issues such as understanding cardiac rehabilitation, improving lifestyle habits, controlling cardiovascular risk factors and techniques for managing stress and anxiety in heart diseases. The goal is to “empower” and “active role” patients.

On the other hand, eighteen personalized training sessions will be held. The objective is to improve functional capacity, quality of life and prognosis. Therefore, according to Osakidetza, it is “very important” to combine training with physical therapy, especially in those who are unable to breathe effectively or have heart failure. “Strength training is essential to improve the aerobic capacity of patients, combat work-related injuries and improve quality of life,” said Osakidetza.

The activities will be carried out in the gym of the Rehabilitation Service of Urduliz Hospital. They will have seven cycle ergometers, one elliptical and two wheeled tapestries. In parallel, there will be muscle strength and respiratory physiotherapy training material. They will adapt everything to the patient’s needs because their goal is to “improve” their health.