A review of issues concerning implementation of cardiac rehabilitation programs

Abstract

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a tertiary preventative intervention for patients who have experienced adverse cardiac events such as a myocardial infarction (MI). Interdisciplinary CR teams focus on reducing multiple risk factors by addressing diet, exercise, and behavior change. CR programs have proven to be comparable in cost to other interventions for cardiac diseases, however the appropriate delivery of these programs faces multiple issues. One major barrier to effective delivery of CR programs is the lack of referral by the health care teams who assess cardiac patients. Other barriers are funding, team structure, and patient access to these programs. This article examines the issues facing CR delivery and possible ways to address them. Given the evidence for its efficacy and cost effectiveness, physicians should work to ensure proper CR referral and improved program delivery.