John considers these in relation to his diagnosis of heart disease and identifies smoking and his diet as two areas he thinks he could look at changing.
The cardiac rehabilitation (CR) professional discusses the readiness ruler and discusses referring him to stop smoking services. (learn more about the options within stop smoking services within module 2). Smoking is one of the major risk factors of CHD and substantially increases the risk of having a further heart attack. People who succeed in stopping smoking reduce the chances of having another MI by 50% in the first year. She explains that there are well known toxins in just one cigarette including tar (causes lung cancer, carbon monoxide (is a poisonous gas) and nicotine (which is addictive and narrows heart arteries (coronary arteries).
Poor diet is another modifiable risk factor that John could address with a look at healthy alternatives and the introduction of different food types. She tells John she will refer him to the CR dietitian for further input when he gets home but directs him to the booklets and web resources he could look at meantime.
She tells John that from his dietary recall, he has a high intake of high energy snacks, and fried foods with low intakes of fruit and vegetables which is contributing to weight gain.
Pulse point
All patients should be encouraged and signposted to appropriate service. (see Additional Information). This may vary from area to area and involve patient discussion regarding their choice of service.
Keeping close to a healthy weight will help reduce blood pressure and therefore reduce the workload of the heart. It will also help reduce cholesterol levels and reduce risk of developing diabetes in the future.
The CR professional should help patients identify their BMI and set a realistic achievable goal of weight loss.
Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland
British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation
The prospect of weight gain should not deter people from stopping smoking. The goal is often to prevent weight gain even if BMI indicates overweight or obese to start with.
Smoking cessation and weight gain are common.
BMJ Group – Weight gain in smokers after quitting cigarettes: meta-analysis
Page last reviewed: 27 Jul 2020
