Patient Care
Receiving news that you have heart disease is quite stressful. It is very common to become increasingly anxious when dealing with a serious medical condition.
In addition, when we experience this type of stress, our bodies react physically in the form of muscular tightness, restricted breathing, stomach upset, etc.
These reactions indicate that a connection exists between the mind and the body.
There are many supplemental mind-body therapies (also known as Complementary & Alternative Medicine or "CAM") that can be integrated into your medical care to help ease stress, enhance the healing process and promote physical and emotional health and well-being.
Utilizing these techniques can be a powerful way for you to become an active partner in your medical care. The Columbia Integrative Medicine Program offers several mind-body interventions to patients undergoing heart surgery.
For those people not electing to have surgery at CUMC, we can assist with referral to an integrative practitioner in your community.
Each CT Surgery patient is entitled to a pre-surgery consultation to construct a customized plan of care over the entire surgical process.
You will meet individually with one of our clinicians to decide what therapies might be helpful to you in preparing for your surgery, during the surgery itself, while recovering in the hospital, and continuing the healing process once you go home. Please call us to schedule your free consultation at 212.342.0002.
The following services are available through the
Columbia Integrative Medicine Program:
Health-Risk Reduction Counseling supports the integration of healthy lifestyle behaviors into one's daily life.
Most of us already know that we should eat well, manage our weight, exercise regularly, stop smoking, relax more, and enjoy life.
However, putting these changes into practice is often challenging. Developing mind-body skills and enhancing awareness can facilitate the realistic implementation of healthful choices.
Mindfulness Based Stress Management teaches the practice of mindfulness meditation, which involves paying attention to the present moment on purpose and without judgment. Calming our minds and developing greater awareness allows us to respond to stressful situations with poise and self-control.
Basic mindfulness techniques aid in coping more effectively with stress, pain, illness, and the hectic pace of our lives.
A weekly stress management class is offered to patients and family members on the inpatient cardiac units.
Individual instruction is also available.
Guided Imagery & Self-Hypnosis link the mind and the body, utilizing the power of the mind to evoke positive physical responses, such as reducing anxiety, minimizing post-operative pain, fatigue, or depression, and returning to life after surgery with a renewed sense of health and well-being. Once learned, these techniques can be practiced on one's own.
Guided Imagery audiotapes /CD's are available for purchase and can be brought with you to most medical settings including the operating room.
Click here for a list of available tapes.
Therapeutic Massage is designed to reduce stress and tension and to promote healing.
Every CUMC cardiothoracic surgery patient is entitled to one 15-minute complimentary massage following surgery.
Sessions of massage are available on a fee-for-service basis for other patients.
Click here for a description of massage techniques.
Cardiac Yoga & Stretching promotes comfort and relaxation through the use of gentle movements and breathing techniques derived from yoga postures.
These techniques are valuable tools for stress reduction that can be utilized by patients before and/or after a surgical procedure.
Weekly classes are offered for patients and family members. Individualized sessions are also available. Click here to watch our 30 minute "Yoga for a Healthy Heart" video.
Taking Care at Home
We recommend that patients with heart disease integrate mind-body skills into their routines at home to enhance relaxation and the healing process whether or not they require surgical intervention. Activities like watching television or reading do not have the same physiologic effects as mind-body techniques.
Practicing any of the techniques described above for just a few minutes per day can make a significant difference in your physical and emotional health and continued well-being. Visit our Patient Education page for more information.
| 
