Cardiac Rehab May Improve Long-Term Survival, But Utilization Is Low.

MedPage Today  (5/7, Peck) reports, "Emerging data show that, in patients who have post-MI rehabilitation, long-term survival may be boosted by as much at 59% compared with patients who are not prescribed rehabilitation." However, "the benefit of cardiac rehabilitation is often never realized because utilization of rehab programs is low, according to Steven W. Lichtman, EdD, president of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) and director of cardiopulmonary outpatient services at Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, NY." Lichtman gave a presentation at EuroPrevent 2012. MedPage Today points out that "an analysis of crude five-year data from 601,099 acute coronary syndrome patients, published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2009, revealed a 59% relative risk reduction in mortality for patients who had cardiac rehabilitation."

        Aggressive Cardiac Rehab Program May Lead To Weight Loss, Lifestyle Improvements. HeartWire  (5/5, O'Riordan) reported, "An aggressive and comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program by clinicians in the west of Ireland resulted in significant reductions in body weight and improved other lifestyle behaviors in a cohort of patients and their partners at high risk for cardiovascular disease events." This "program includes physicians, nurses, physical-activity specialists, social workers, dieticians, and targeted patients referred by family physicians as high risk for cardiovascular events based on their risk-factor profile." Findings from the "study, which included changes in diet and physical-activity levels, were presented...at EuroPrevent 2012 by Dr Gerard Flaherty (National University of Galway, Ireland)."