Cardiac Rehabilitation

What is cardiac rehabilitation?

Cardiac rehabilitation (rehab) programs help people with heart issues make healthy lifestyle choices to reduce the risk of future heart problems. If you have experienced a heart attack, heart disease or heart surgery, talk to your primary care physician or cardiologist about participation in a cardiac rehab program.

Services include nutrition counseling, graduated exercise training, stress reduction education and more. MaineHealth offers cardiac rehab services at multiple locations across the state. (See "Where to Find Care" for more information.) Our Cardiac Rehab team can show you how to:

Fix heart healthy meals
Make exercise part of your daily routine
Lower cholesterol
Ease stress
Develop a plan to quit smoking, if you smoke

Is cardiac rehab right for me?

Cardiac rehab services are usually recommended for people who have had a heart attack, heart surgery, angioplasty, stent placement, and for people with stable angina (chest pain) who have not had a heart attack and want to prevent their condition from getting worse. We also care for patients who have or had:

Insurance Coverage

Insurance coverage varies by insurance plan, but generally, cardiac rehab services are covered. (Your plan may have certain deductible and co-pay requirements.) A referral from your physician is required to start the program. Our staff will work with you to ensure the best-possible insurance coverage and arrange the necessary referral paperwork.

MaineHealth Cardiovascular Programs:

Next Steps for Patients

While some patients are candidates for self-referral to our cardiovascular specialists, we recommend that you ask your primary care physician for help with the process.

Find a Provider

Provider Referrals

If you are a provider who would like to refer a patient for MaineHealth cardiovascular rehab services, please review our clinical guidelines and call 207-885-9905.

Clinical Guidelines