TY - JOUR
T1 - Is cardiac rehabilitation still relevant in the new millennium?
AU - Dobson, Laura E
AU - Lewin, Robert J
AU - Doherty, Patrick Joseph
AU - Batin, Phillip D
AU - Megarry, Simon
AU - Gale, Christopher P
PY - 2012/1
Y1 - 2012/1
N2 - Cardiac rehabilitation is an evidence-based intervention which has evolved over time and incorporates physical, psycho-social and educational components with the aim of improving the patients' functioning following a cardiac event. The evidence base for cardiac rehabilitation following acute myocardial infarction has been growing over the past half a century. Individual randomized control trials were small and, therefore, mortality outcomes usually failed to reach significance; however, meta-analyses have proven consistently that participation in cardiac rehabilitation following a myocardial infarction is associated with a significant improvement in mortality. In the era of revascularization and improved drug therapies, observational studies still provide evidence that independent of other treatments, cardiac rehabilitation is a life-saving measure. Although early studies often only studied young males, more contemporary data include patients from all sectors of society and have found that groups such as women, the elderly and those with heart failure appear to have greater mortality benefits compared with the traditional young male cohort. Uptake remains a problem and one challenge for the future is ensuring improved uptake on to good-quality rehabilitation programmes and demonstrating these positive effects.
AB - Cardiac rehabilitation is an evidence-based intervention which has evolved over time and incorporates physical, psycho-social and educational components with the aim of improving the patients' functioning following a cardiac event. The evidence base for cardiac rehabilitation following acute myocardial infarction has been growing over the past half a century. Individual randomized control trials were small and, therefore, mortality outcomes usually failed to reach significance; however, meta-analyses have proven consistently that participation in cardiac rehabilitation following a myocardial infarction is associated with a significant improvement in mortality. In the era of revascularization and improved drug therapies, observational studies still provide evidence that independent of other treatments, cardiac rehabilitation is a life-saving measure. Although early studies often only studied young males, more contemporary data include patients from all sectors of society and have found that groups such as women, the elderly and those with heart failure appear to have greater mortality benefits compared with the traditional young male cohort. Uptake remains a problem and one challenge for the future is ensuring improved uptake on to good-quality rehabilitation programmes and demonstrating these positive effects.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=82555170331&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2459/JCM.0b013e32834d4571
DO - 10.2459/JCM.0b013e32834d4571
M3 - Article
C2 - 22037713
SN - 1558-2035
VL - 13
SP - 32
EP - 37
JO - Journal of cardiovascular medicine (Hagerstown, Md.)
JF - Journal of cardiovascular medicine (Hagerstown, Md.)
IS - 1
ER -