ExerciseScienceCardiacRehab

Careers in Exercise Science

"CardioPulmonary Rehabilitation"
Cardiac Rehab

Job Responsibilities	Job Setting	Clients
What do you need to be qualified?	Pay?	Some examples

Job Responsibilities

Interpret physiological data from stress tests
Exercise Prescription; plan and implement treatment programs based on evaluation
Modifies exercise prescription based on cardiac symptomatology
Presents health education to clients to reduce risk factors
Works with cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, PAs, nurses, and physicians to determine program eligibility, progress and timing of progression to the next phase
Electrode placements on patients, ECG recognition, BP assessment
Counsels patients about continuing care at home to maintain healthy habits after program
Monitors outpatient cardiac rehabilitation exercise groups (phase III)
Cardiology diagnostics
Works with healthy and unhealthy populations

Job Setting

Phase I- Job setting is in-patient, working on the cardiac floor with patients who have been admitted.

Phase II- Job setting is outpatient. Patients come in for exercise and educational sessions. Most stay for about 12 weeks. You goal is to education and improve their fitness to improve the long term prognosis.

Phase III- Job setting may be at the hospital, or possibly even a health and fitness facility (i.e YMCA). Patients are not monitored during exercise, but rather have periodic checks.

Clients
Clients will vary in age, gender, and chronic condition. Most will have had either and event (infarction) or surgical intervention.
Some conditions may include

CAD
COPD
Angina
Heart Failure
Acute Heart Procedure or Surgery Including Bypass
Angioplasty
Stenting
Valve Replacement
Pacemaker
Peripheral Artery disease

Secondary to these conditions, many clients will also have the following:
Obesity
Diabetes
Metabolic Syndrome

What Educational Requirements are needed?

For many jobs, a B.S Degree in Exercise Science is the minimum requirements. However, A Master's degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology is preferred at many locations (again, will vary by program size). View the job search for these positions to see specific degree requirements.

Experience Needed!

Stress Testing and Cardiac Rehab Internship experience
Familiarity with BP assessment, O2sat, working with patients with a range of cardiopulmonary conditions
Experience working in Phase I, II and III environments
Familiarity with cardiac imaging techniques
Patient Education experience

Certifications-

Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist certification from ACSM
AACVPR also has a new certification
Active BLS and ACLS (advanced cardiac life support) certifications

Pay?

Pay will vary by the size of the hospital as well as the geographic location. Statistics below are for west Michigan.

MI Yearly Cardiac Rehabilitation Pay Statistics

Average Yearly Cardiac Rehabilitation Salary	$39,117 - $58,676
Starting Yearly Cardiac Rehabilitation Salary	$20,000 - $48,321
Top Yearly Cardiac Rehabilitation Salary	$46,020 - $69,031

Some examples of Cardiac Programs

Spectrum Health Cardiac Rehab

Henry Ford Hospital Cardiac Rehab

William Beaumont Hospital Cardiac Rehab