CHAMPS
CHAMPS offers you a more permanent way of treating coronary artery disease by helping you make positive lifestyle changes. We help you identify your risk factors and what you can do to prevent progression of your coronary artery disease or, better yet, promote regression of the disease.

Inpatient Phase
The first phase takes place in the hospital. By helping you out of bed as soon as we can, by having you walk as much as safely possible, and by helping you understand your disease, your medications, and when your symptoms warrant a call to your doctor are all factors we hope to accomplish during your hospital stay.

• Make sure you have a list of your medications and you know when to take them and what they are for. Your nurse will help you with this.
• What are your activity restrictions? Ask your CHAMPS team member, doctor, or nurse.
  • When you can drive
  • When you can resume sexual activities
  • Where you will be going to Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation

If I don't hear from my Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation site within one week after I am discharged, I will call them at the hospital where I have been referred. If that is the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, call CHAMPS at 319-356 4652!

Outpatient Phase
Participation in an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program is one of the most beneficial things that patients with heart problems can do for themselves. All you need is a physician's referral. Check with your insurance company or ask your CHAMPS team member for advice on coverage. Expect to participate in the outpatient phase for 6-12 weeks. You will be glad you did!

The outpatient phase is where everything will come together for you. What may have been overwhelming in the hospital, will now, in the outpatient phase, be manageable for you. You and your family will learn all the ways to manage your heart disease from nutrition education to stress management to exercise training. You will condition your body and heart in a safe, ECG monitored environment that is supervised by specially trained professionals.

Use this book for a guide and resource as you go through this Phase.

Maintenance Phase
After you have completed the outpatient phase, you may begin the long-term maintenance program. It is a non-ECG monitored program in which you will be independent, yet our expert staff is always present in case you need us. Insurance usually doesn't cover the maintenance program. However, we have reduced our expenses and your costs so that it is comparable in cost to a health club.

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