TY - JOUR T1 - Current trends in cardiac rehabilitation JF - Canadian Medical Association Journal JO - CMAJ SP - 527 LP - 532 VL - 156 IS - 4 AU - W. Dafoe AU - P. Huston Y1 - 1997/02/15 UR - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/156/4/527.abstract N2 - Cardiac rehabilitation can reduce mortality and morbidity for patients with many types of cardiac disease cost-effectively, yet is generally underutilized. Rehabilitation is helpful not only for patients who have had a myocardial infarction but also for those with stable angina or congestive heart failure or those who have undergone myocardial revascularization procedures, a heart transplant or heart valve surgery. The beneficial effects of rehabilitation include a reduction in the rate of death from cardiovascular disease, improved exercise tolerance, fewer cardiac symptoms, improved lipid levels, decreased cigarette smoking, improvement in psychosocial well-being and increased likelihood of return to work. Rehabilitation involves a multidisciplinary team that focuses on education, individually tailored exercise, risk-factor modification and the optimization of functional status and mental health. Current research trends in this area include the evaluation of new secondary-prevention modalities and alternative program options, such as home-based rehabilitation. ER -