A heart attack survivor says he "dreads to think'' what would have happened if it wasn’t for the mental health support provided by cardiac rehabilitation.
The waiting list for the service has increased by 54% since 2013.
While staff levels have plummeted by 40%.
We carried out a survey with @IRehabilitation which found that Ireland's cardiac rehabilitation service is in absolute crisis.
The national waiting list now has nearly 3000 patients while staffing levels have plummeted by 40 per cent.https://t.co/rPH7ClKPDV pic.twitter.com/koK4kC6dw0— Irish Heart Foundation (@Irishheart_ie) June 30, 2021
Noel Was Just 51 When He Had A Heart Attack
Fit and active Noel Flannery was just 51 when he had a heart attack.
He was walking his daughter home from training:
"A ten minute walk took me a half hour."
"I had to stop often."
"But I was freezing and I was also sweating."
Noel received 7 stents at the Mater Hospital.
Then he joined a waiting list of over 2,800 people to get cardiac rehabilitation or CR.
The Irish Heart Foundation say hospitals are in "absolute crisis" as staffing levels drop by 40%.
With many nurses being transferred to other departments without replacing them.
Only 7 of the 35 CRs has a psychologist on its team.
Noel says the psychologist was crucial to his recovery.
Meanwhile, the charity says 40% of patients have been waiting for rehab for more than three months.
That's despite it reducing your chance of death by heart attack by around 20%.
