Sentara expands Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehab program to all 12 hospitals

Sentara hospitals in Virginia and North Carolina are adding the Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehab program to help ensure that patients make full and lasting recoveries from cardiac events. The Pritikin program embraces three pillars; exercise, nutrition and a healthy mindset, to empower patients to make good choices for their continued good health.

“This program is easier to stay with,” said patient Ken Cohen, following biceps curls on a weight machine in the cardiac rehab unit at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Virginia Beach, Va. Cohen went through a previous rehab program there, which requires a primarily vegan diet. “It was tough to stay on that one,” Cohen said, due to the strict dietary rules. “I lost 30 pounds, but the dietary rules were hard to follow.”

Ken Cohen using workout machinery at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital

The Pritikin program allows lean meats and fish as proteins in a balanced diet. Clinical dieticians recommend using spice blends at home to make heathy eating more fun. “Just make sure you’re buying spice blends with no sodium,” added clinical dietician Terri Larsson during a nutrition class. “Otherwise, you might be inadvertently adding sodium to your diet.” Larsson also advised using condiments like chopped garlic in water, not oil, because oil adds fat. “I’m a dietitian not a cook,” she noted while chopping celery for a vegetarian chili. “Make it easy on yourself.”

The Pritikin program’s three pillars include:

• Regular Exercise – to improve cardiovascular endurance and increase strength.
• Heart-Healthy Nutrition – Patients learn to cook affordable, high-fiber, satisfying meals, read nutrition labels and make good choices dining out to manage their weight.
• Healthy Mindset - Manage stress and anxiety, improve communication and set goals.

“The Pritikin program meets patients where they are,” says Dana Kramp, Manager of Cardiac Rehab at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital. “We give them the knowledge and tools to make good decisions around diet and exercise and managing stress. We try to make it user-friendly, so patients are more likely to stay with it as a healthy lifestyle.”

The Pritikin program can assist patients in their recovery from a variety of cardiac events, including:

• Heart attack
• Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery 
• Stenting or Angioplasty
• Angina (chest pain)
• Heart Valve Repair or Replacement
• Heart or Heart/Lung Transplant
• Chronic Heart Failure (CHF)

Sentara Princess Anne is the fifth Sentara hospital to adopt the Pritikin program, behind Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Va., Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton, Va., Sentara RMH Medical Center in Harrisonburg, Va., and Sentara Obici Hospital in Suffolk, Va.

The program will launch this month at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and Sentara Leigh Hospital in Norfolk, Va., and Sentara Albemarle Medical Center in Elizabeth City, NC. Others will be added through the year until all 12 Sentara hospitals offer the Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehab program.