Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a secondary prevention intervention offered to promote cardiac recovery by reducing morbidity, mortality, and disability. As such, CR has been recognized as integral to the comprehensive care of patients with cardiovascular disease, and, in most current guidelines of cardiovascular societies globally, CR is a class I recommendation. At first, the standard “cardiac rehabilitation” approach focused almost exclusively on supervised exercise, since many previous studies had confirmed a positive impact of regular physical activities on cardiac outcomes. […]

Cardiovascular rehabilitation (CR) is an effective and safe treatment for stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients, with established benefits to improving quality of life and reducing cardiovascular mortality and hospital admission. The effects of CR on reducing myocardial ischemia have been documented,– justifying the CR Class IA recommendation. However, CR is still neglected and underused worldwide. Refractory angina (RA) is a disabling condition affecting CAD patients under optimized medical therapy with a residual ischemic burden for more than three months […]

Physical activity and exercising are said to reduce the risk of cardiovascular mortality in the general population by 30%–50%, and mortality from any cause by 20%–50%. In cardiac patients, for each 1 Met increment (3.5 mL O2 kg−1 min−1) in functional capacity (FC) obtained in a cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP), we have a reduction in overall mortality of up to 13%., They reduce global hospitalization by 18%, and improve quality of life (QoL) in this population., After an angioplasty, CRP […]

The burden of heart failure exerts a significant personal, social and economic impact not only on patients and their families but also on society (including health care systems). Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition affecting a huge amount of individuals worldwide (>37.7 million cases estimated in 2010). It is characterized by typical symptoms (e.g. breathlessness and fatigue) that may be accompanied by signs (e.g. peripheral edema) caused by cardiac abnormalities – structural and/or functional –, resulting in reduced cardiac […]

In the last ten to fifteen years, we are seen more and more concern with patients´ awareness about their diseases.– Campaigns have been brought to the public to teach them about symptoms and signs that might bring concern and make them ask for help and go to an emergency room or, in the United States to call 911. This is true especially for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), given the possibility of better quality of life and in some […]

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of death worldwide. According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 17.9 million individuals die per year due to this clinical condition. In Brazil, a registry of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology shows an increase in mortality over the years, affecting 383,961 individuals in 2017. Considering the strong association of CVD with morbidity and mortality, as well as the impairment of functional capacity and quality of life shown by these patients, […]

Acute coronary syndromes (ACSs), in particularly, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), kill or debilitate a large number of patients in the world. Despite the fact that not all patients develop ventricular dysfunction after the event, there is still a high prevalence of post-AMI heart failure,, which is considered a public health problem. Although the management of post-ACS is based on a wide range of drugs, usually associated with the revascularization procedure, different non-pharmacological strategies have been shown useful. In this regard, […]