Key Points

• Cardiac rehabilitation (rehab) is a medically supervised program that helps improve the health and well-being of people who have heart problems.
• Rehab includes exercise training, education on heart healthy living, and counseling to reduce stress and help you return to an active life.
• Cardiac rehab involves a long-term commitment from the patient and a team of health care providers, such as doctors, nurses, exercise specialists, physical and occupational therapists, dietitians or nutritionists, and psychologists or other mental health specialists.
• Many people who have heart problems can benefit from cardiac rehab. Rehab can help people who have had a heart attack, angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting for coronary heart disease, heart valve repair or replacement, a heart transplant or a lung transplant, or stable angina.
• The goals of cardiac rehab include helping you recover after a heart attack or heart surgery, addressing risk factors for heart problems, adopting healthy lifestyle changes, and improving your health and quality of life.
• Your rehab team will work with you to meet your goals. You will do this through increased daily physical activity, following a heart healthy diet, quitting smoking, and improving your emotional health.
• Before starting any cardiac rehab program, your rehab team will assess your health. They'll ask about your medical history and do a physical exam. They may recommend tests to check your overall health.
• During cardiac rehab, your team will help create a physical activity plan and heart healthy diet for you to follow. They will work with you to reduce your risk factors for heart problems. If you feel sad, anxious, angry, or isolated, the team can help you get treatment to improve your emotional health.
• Cardiac rehab has many benefits. It can improve your overall health and quality of life. It also can reduce your overall chance of dying, the chance of future heart problems, and the chance of dying from a heart attack. Cardiac rehab also can decrease pain and lessen the chance that you will have to go back to the hospital or emergency room for a heart problem.
• The lifestyle changes you make during cardiac rehab have few risks. At first, physical activity is safer in the rehab setting than at home. Members of the rehab team are trained and have experience teaching people who have heart problems how to exercise. Very rarely, physical activity during rehab causes serious problems.