BILBAO, 9 Ago.

Osakidetza, the Basque Health Department, has launched the cardiac rehabilitation unit at Urduliz Hospital, aimed at patients with heart failure and those who have experienced acute cardiovascular events, as reported by the Basque Government's Health Department on Wednesday.

The Integrated Healthcare Organization Uribe is expanding its range of services with the launch of this new unit, "aimed at improving the health and well-being of people who have suffered or may suffer from any cardiovascular events, enhancing their quality of life and reducing morbidity and mortality," according to a statement.

The Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit begins its activity with a group of eight patients, four women and four men, with an average age of 58 years. These individuals are guided through a multidisciplinary program designed and supervised by a team of professionals from the Uribe Integrated Healthcare Organization's Cardiology and Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Services.

The complete program has an approximate duration of two months and consists of an educational component of 12 sessions, where patients learn about their disease, understanding what ischemic heart disease and heart failure mean.

To achieve this, topics range from understanding Cardiac Rehabilitation and improving lifestyle habits to controlling cardiovascular risk factors, understanding medication, and managing stress and anxiety related to heart disease.

The goal is the empowerment and active role of patients who will undergo personalized training for their pathology during 18 sessions.

An initial ergospirometry is performed, which allows establishing specific training and improvement areas for each patient, optimizing training sessions with the main objective of improving functional capacity, quality of life, and prognosis.

Last year, Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Service was added to Uribe's range of services, and now, together with the Cardiology Service of the Integrated Healthcare Organization, Osakidetza is launching this new unit aimed at patients with heart failure and those who have experienced acute cardiovascular events, such as acute myocardial infarction, and meet the criteria for inclusion in the program.

Physiotherapy plays a "fundamental role" in the program, especially in the implementation of aerobic training, respiratory musculature, and specific strength training, particularly in those patients who are more debilitated or have heart failure. This strength training "is essential to improve the aerobic capacity of patients, prevent exercise-related injuries, and enhance quality of life," they reported.

The activities take place in the gymnasium located in the Rehabilitation Service of Urduliz Hospital, which has over 200 square meters of facilities and ten training stations (seven cycle ergometers, one elliptical, and two treadmills) where patients train with monitoring, as well as equipment designed for muscular strength training and respiratory physiotherapy.

A team from the Uribe Integrated Healthcare Organization, comprised of professionals in medicine, nursing, and physiotherapy from the Cardiology and Rehabilitation Services, work together with each patient with the aim of "achieving the best health outcomes," according to Osakidetza.