From Wheelchair to Walking Thanks to Cardiac Rehabilitation

The side effects of chemotherapy took a toll on Barbara Heater. She was undergoing treatment for breast cancer when she was diagnosed with heart failure that left her weak, fatigued, and in a wheelchair.

"I had to stop chemotherapy because my heart was working so inefficiently - at just 35% efficiency," Barbara recalled. 

Her cardiologist, Dr. Margit Nemeth at St. Luke's Health-The Woodlands Hospital, prescribed 36 sessions at the hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit, which includes a monitored exercise program tailored to each patient’s needs.

Barbara, a 73-year-old former high school principal, could take just a few steps with a walker, not only because of her heart condition but because the cancer spread to her bones, necessitating the placement of rods in both of her legs.

The Cardiac Rehabilitation team kept a close watch on Barbara’s heart during her sessions and was always nearby just in case. At first, she became easily fatigued, but she persevered, going to the unit three times a week to walk on the treadmill, use the stationary bike, and a recumbent crosstrainer. 

Slowly but surely, she was making progress. About two-thirds of the way through, Barbara no longer needed a walker and started doing strength exercises, eventually walking with 20-pound weights in each hand.  

“Walking independently was an important milestone for me,” Barbara said. Once she completed all the prescribed sessions, she joined the Cardiac Rehabilitation Maintenance Program, an independent phase of cardiac rehab. This time, she did not need to wear a heart monitor.

Five years later, Barbara is still participating in the maintenance program and is using her own experience to support other cardiac rehab patients as a spiritual care volunteer.

“Our patients respond to Barbara because she is so approachable,” said Nicole Mikelonis, RN, BSN, CCM, Team Lead of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit at St. Luke's-The Woodlands. “She takes time to listen to patients about their journey, and she’s very encouraging. They see her challenging herself, and it motivates them to succeed.  She’s a phenomenal complement to our program.”

Barbara realizes that everyone’s experience is different. “The important thing is that I've been there and I find that most people open up to me and start asking me questions about what they are feeling or fears they may have,” she said.

Barbara recently returned from a trip to France and is making plans to travel to Alaska. She is committed to her cardiac rehab exercise routine and is grateful that Dr. Nemeth referred her to the Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit at St. Luke's-The Woodlands.

“By the time I finished my first 36 cardiac rehab sessions, I was walking on my own, and that was within a couple of years of being diagnosed with chronic heart failure. My heart is better now than it was before I started this whole journey,” Barbara said.