- Eligible patients enter the cardiac rehabilitation pathway when referred after a qualifying event or diagnosis, ideally beginning within 1 to 2 weeks after the event.1
- Prompt enrollment in cardiac rehabilitation appears to improve patient participation in the program; participation is 1% lower for every 1-day delay in enrollment.1
- Patients attend 36 cardiac rehabilitation sessions, each lasting 1 hour, over a period of 12 weeks, during which they participate in the following according to their individualized treatment plan and under the guidance of their cardiac rehabilitation team:1
- exercise training
- nutrition counseling
- educational and psychological support sessions
- At the completion of 12 weeks of cardiac rehabilitation, patients undergo a graduation assessment that focuses on progress made toward meeting their goals for exercise, nutrition, psychosocial factors, and other core factors, such as control of cardiovascular risk factors and adherence to guideline-directed medical therapies. The treatment plan is then updated to help patients continue to advance toward their rehabilitation goals after discharge from the program. A longer-term follow-up plan is also developed, to be carried out with the assistance of the patient’s cardiologist or primary care provider.1
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