Heart Smart Series

Learn how to make smart, heart healthy choices at the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Center's Heart Smart Series.

Supporting Prevention as Treatment

The Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital Corrigan Minehan Heart Center provides classes on strategies to reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease and cardiac events (heart attack). Classes are available to patients as part of their program participation.

Class Topics

Exercise and Your Heart

Discuss the essential features of a cardiovascular exercise program including benefits, components, preparation, precautions and monitoring progress.

Coronary Artery Disease and Secondary Prevention

Learn about the problem of coronary arteriosclerosis and its manifestations: heart attack and angina. Discuss risk factors that contribute to coronary artery disease and what you can do to change them, lowering your risk of future cardiac events.

Symptom Recognition

Learn to recognize the symptoms of angina and what to do about them. We review proper use of nitroglycerin and how to distinguish between angina and heart attack symptoms.

Cardiac Medications

Discuss commonly prescribed cardiac medications and the role they play in lowering risk of future cardiac events.

Successful Lifestyle Change

This class will focus on strategies to assist you in making and maintaining lifestyle and behavior changes that improve your heart health.

Mind/Body Practices

A session focused on leading you in a variety of practices and methods to help you better manage stress and develop your understanding of mindfulness and meditation. These practices may include deep breathing, visualization, guided progressive relaxation, or an intro to yoga and Tai Chi.

The Relaxation Response

Learn about stress and its healthy opposite - the relaxation response. Identify your stressors and develop an awareness of how you react to them. Discuss methods of coping with stress and learn some basic management skills. Participants are encouraged to follow up with at least 1 Mind/Body Practice session.

Developing Resilience

This session will assist you to develop your inner strength to respond and recover from adversity. Resilience can enhance healing and help us thrive physically, emotionally, socially, mentally and spiritually.