UT Health East Texas CEO Moody Chisholm and UT Health Rehabilitation Center Administrator Laurie Lehnhof-Watts watch as clinical dietitian Allie Redding prepares a Thai coleslaw during a reception Thursday for the Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. Rehabilitation program.

UT Health East Texas Rehabilitation Center last week celebrated the launch of a new cardiac rehabilitation program, being hailed as the first of its kind to be offered in Texas.

The Pritikin ICR (Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation) program treats patients with cardiovascular disease and is housed at the Tyler Cardiac Rehabilitation Center on the first floor of the UT Health Tyler Olympic Plaza Tower, 700 Olympic Plaza Circle.

UT Health Rehabilitation Center is the first location in Texas to offer the Pritikin ICR program, and the first in the East Texas region to offer an ICR program, hospital officials said.

Along with the 36 exercise sessions offered in a conventional cardiac rehabilitation program, the Pritikin ICR program offers 36 additional educational sessions focused on nutrition and stress management. The three-pronged focus — healthy eating, regular exercise and a healthy mindset — gives the program a more comprehensive approach and helps establish healthy lifestyle habits in program participants.