Heart Center - Dignity Health - Mark Twain Medical Center

The Heart Center at Mark Twain Medical Center provides cardiac and pulmonary-specific exercise and education designed to help you build and maintain healthy lifestyle habits. With us, you’ll get:

• Education on heart and lung disease and related risk factors

• Exercise designed to meet your individual needs and goals 

• Heart and blood pressure monitoring during exercise to support safe participation

• Help developing a program to make healthy lifestyle changes and return to an appropriate activity level based on your needs

Mark Twain Medical Center also offers diagnostic tests for heart-related conditions, including:

• Echocardiogram: An ultrasound image of your heart

• Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG): A test that records the heart’s electrical impulses

• Pulmonary function testing: Breathing tests to measure how well your lungs work

Explore cardiac rehab

Cardiac rehabilitation helps support your recovery after heart surgery or a heart-related medical event. Our cardiac rehab program is designed to help you regain your strength, support your heart health, help lower your risk of future heart problems and improve your overall well-being.

The Heart Center’s cardiovascular rehabilitation program includes a supervised exercise and education program based on your needs, including guidance on managing risk factors, stress, diet and exercise. Our cardiac rehabilitation team helps support lifestyle changes and may help reduce the risk of future hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease and related complications.

To enroll in our cardiac rehab program, patients should be prepared to attend exercise classes three times a week for about three months.

You can enroll in our monitored cardiac rehab program at Mark Twain Medical Center if you’ve experienced one of these conditions or events in the last 12 months:

• Coronary artery bypass graft surgery

• Heart attack

• Heart transplant

• Heart-lung transplant

• Heart valve replacement

• Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA)

• Stable angina pectoris

Our maintenance program is available for a wide variety of cardiac conditions. You can enroll in our maintenance program if you and your physician agree that you may benefit from cardiac rehabilitation.

Pulmonary rehabilitation helps support the evaluation and management of breathing problems. We provide pulmonary rehabilitation for people with lung conditions such as: 

• Asthma

• Bronchiectasis

• Bronchitis

• Emphysema

• Interstitial lung disease

• Pulmonary fibrosis

Pulmonary rehabilitation is designed to help people with lung conditions improve breathing, build endurance and learn strategies for managing symptoms at home. Pulmonary rehabilitation goals include:

• Helping reduce shortness of breath

• Improving activity tolerance

• Providing education on the proper use and maintenance of breathing equipment

• Building self-care strategies for home management

• Collaborating closely with your physician to support ongoing progress monitoring

We work together to help you improve daily function and overall well-being.

Our specialized cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation teams at Mark Twain Heart Center include:

• Registered dietitians

• Registered nurses

• Respiratory therapists

Our staff has experience caring for people of all ages.

At your first visit, our team will review your medical history, current symptoms and recovery goals. Together, you’ll develop a therapy plan based on your needs and discuss what to expect during future sessions.

Cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation must be prescribed by a physician. Our team can answer questions about referrals and help schedule your appointment. Please call (209) 754-2516 for more information.

Many major health insurance plans, including Medicare, cover cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services when they are medically necessary. Coverage may vary based on your plan, diagnosis and number of visits included. For help understanding your insurance coverage and benefits before starting rehabilitation, please call us at (209) 754-2516.