Why is cardiac rehabilitation so important? Taking the traditional components of cardiac rehabilitation and making them fit contemporary service and patient needs

摘要

Current statistics, available from outcomes following the National Service Framework (NSF) on Coronary Heart Disease, show that more people are surviving longer both after an acute coronary event and after a symptom-led diagnosis of coronary artery disease. In the past, cardiac rehabilitation (CR) played a key role in preventing premature mortality but more recently the greatly enhanced emergency services, better public education and more aggressive and widely available medical interventions may have diminished the effect of CR on premature mortality. There is now an increasing focus on productivity of life in those surviving acute myocardial events. Productivity refers to people's active involvement in the local social and economic fabric of their families, friends and community. Some of these matters are less likely to be a function of technical medical care but rather a function of healthcare professionals providing therapeutic and health-promoting support for people to manage the physical, mental, domestic, occupational and social aspects of their lives - all of the goals at the heart of a good CR and chronic disease management and prevention programme.