Conclusion
Cardiac rehabilitation is an important component of the current multidisciplinary approach to the management of the patients with various presentations of coronary heart disease. Cardiac rehabilitation involves exercise training, education, counseling regarding risk reduction and lifestyle modification, and, frequently, behavior interventions.
The goals of cardiac rehabilitation services are to improve the physiologic and psychosocial condition of patients. Physiologic benefits include the improvement of exercise capacity and the reduction of risk factors (eg, cessation of smoking and lowering of lipid levels, body weight, blood pressure, blood glucose), with the exercise component provided through rehabilitation possibly reducing the progression of atherosclerosis. Psychological improvements include the reduction of depression, anxiety, and stress. All of these improvements enable the patient to acquire and maintain functional independence and to return to satisfactory and appropriate activity that benefits the patient and society.
For excellent patient education resources, visit eMedicine’s Public Health Center. Also, see eMedicine’s patient education articles Chest Pain, Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Attack, Walking for Fitness, and Resistance Training.
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