Education

Cardiac Standards

Each year, an estimated 785 000 Americans will suffer a new myocardial infarction, and nearly 470 000 will have a recurrent attack. Within 5 years of an initial MI, 15% of men and 22% of women 45 to 64 years of age and 22% of men and women >65 years of age will suffer a recurrent MI or fatal coronary heart disease (CHD).
Cardiac rehabilitation/secondary prevention programs (CR/SPPs) are medically supervised programs that help patients with CVD to recover more quickly after a cardiac event and to stay healthy.

Cardiac Tool Kit

This statement focuses on outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programs. Interventions in these programs should emphasize three areas:
(1) exercise training and activity prescription,
(2) risk factor modification, and (3) psychosocial and vocational evaluation and counseling.

2013 Guidelines for STEMI

Posthospitalization Plan of
Care: Recommendations
Class I
1. Posthospital systems of care designed to prevent hospital readmissions should be used to facilitate the transition to effective, coordinated outpatient care for all patients with STEMI. 216 –220
(Level of Evidence: B)
2. Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation/secondary prevention programs are recommended for patients with STEMI. 221–224 (Level of Evidence: B)

Pulmonary Standards

The article provides an outline of clinical competencies recommended for personnel providing comprehensive services in pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), complementing the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Guidelines for Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programs. Individuals wishing to provide PR services should possess a common core of professional and clinical competencies regardless of their academic discipline.

Pulmonary Tool Kit

AACVPR has led a multi-society effort to address the payment reduction by Medicare that has been in effect for pulmonary rehabilitation programs since January 1, 2012. We have developed a comprehensive tool kit that explains all of the issues associated with...

ATS - Statement on Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Since the last statements on pulmonary rehabilitation by the
American Thoracic Society (ATS; 1999) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS; 1997), there have been numerous scientific advances both in our understanding of the systemic effects of chronic respiratory disease as well as the changes induced by the process of pulmonary rehabilitation.