A new 2-week hospitalized phase II cardiac rehabilitation program has been designed and the present study sought to clarify whether the physical and psychological status of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) improved after participation in the program. Fifty-one patients with AMI were enrolled in the rehabilitation program, which consisted of exercise training, education and counse...

BACKGROUND The traditional approach to the measurement of change presents important drawbacks (no information at individual level, ordinal scores, variance of the measurement instrument across time points), which Rasch models overcome. The article aims to illustrate the features of the measurement of change with Rasch models. METHODS To illustrate the measurement of change using Rasch models,...

BACKGROUND Cardiac rehabilitation is an evidence-based health service model for providing secondary prevention strategies following an acute cardiac event. In spite of the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation, there are striking cultural and ethnic disparities with regard to access to and usage of these programmes. OBJECTIVE To investigate the challenges in providing cardiac rehabilitation to c...

BACKGROUND Cardiac rehabilitation following myocardial infarction reduces subsequent mortality, but uptake and adherence to rehabilitation programmes remains poor, particularly among women, the elderly and ethnic minority groups. Evidence of the effectiveness of home-based cardiac rehabilitation remains limited. This trial evaluates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of home-based compare...

BACKGROUND To determine the effectiveness of home-based cardiac rehabilitation programmes compared with (i) usual care and (ii) supervised centre-based cardiac rehabilitation on mortality, health related quality of life and modifiable cardiac risk factors of patients with coronary heart disease. METHODS Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUR...

BACKGROUND Main suggested theories about patients' adherence to treatment regimens recognize the importance of motivation in positive changes in behaviors. Since cardiac diseases are chronic and common, cardiac rehabilitation as an effective prevention program is crucial in management of these diseases. There is always concern about the patients' adherence to cardiac rehabilitation. The aim of ...

BACKGROUND Home-based cardiac rehabilitation offers an alternative to traditional, hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation. AIM To compare the cost effectiveness of home-based cardiac rehabilitation and hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation. METHODS 104 patients with an uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction and without major comorbidity were randomized to receive home-based rehabilitation...

Background/Introduction Cardiac rehabilitation is the process by which patients with cardiac disease are supported to achieve optimal physical and psychosocial health. Exercise training is a core element of cardiac rehabilitation. At our institution, there are two different rehabilitation programmes available to patients who have undergone cardiac surgery: Firstly, there is the “in-house” (IH) ...