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• Summary
• Start Here

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• Living With
• Related Issues

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

Cardiac rehabilitation (rehab) is a medically supervised program to help people who have:

• A heart attack
• Angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting for coronary heart disease
• A heart valve repair or replacement
• A heart transplant or a lung transplant
• Angina
• Heart failure

The goal is to help you return to an active life, and to reduce the risk of further heart problems. A team of specialists will create a plan for you that includes exercise training, education on heart healthy living, and counseling to reduce stress. You will learn how to reduce your risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, depression, and diabetes. Being overweight, having obesity, smoking, and not exercising are other risk factors.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• Cardiac Rehabilitation (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Heart Treatments (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• What Is Cardiac Rehabilitation? (American Heart Association)

Living With

• Eating Well and Losing Weight (American Heart Association)
• Managing Your Medications (American Heart Association)
• Post Surgery Milestones: Managing Your Mood, Expectations and Goals (American Heart Association)
• Taking Care of Yourself (American Heart Association)

Related Issues

• All about Heart Rate (American Heart Association)
• Common Problems and Solutions for Being Physically Active (American Heart Association)
• High Blood Pressure: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Weight Control: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Cardiac Rehabilitation (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Study protocol for a controlled clinical trial on cardiac telerehabilitation and...
• Article: Inspiratory muscle training after atrial fibrillation catheter ablation: A pilot study.
• Article: Benefits of Cardiac Rehabilitation: Mechanisms to Restore Function and Clinical Impact.
• Cardiac Rehabilitation -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Heart Anatomy (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
• Heart Information Center (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
• How the Heart Works (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• American Heart Association
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Patient Handouts

• Cardiac rehabilitation (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Electrocardiogram (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish