Cardiac rehabilitation resources for healthcare providers

• Australian healthcare professionals play a critical role in patient participation in cardiac rehabilitation through advocating for and referring patients to local services.
• The Heart Foundation has designed an infographic to help healthcare professionals advocate to managers, administrators, stakeholders and patients the benefits, emphasise potential cost savings and improved patient outcomes from cardiac rehabilitation. 
• Many patients feel empowered to tell their stories and help others. The Heart Foundation has a series of videos to help healthcare professionals advocate the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation to patients to increase participation in these services. 
• The collection of data on quality indicators contributes to regular monitoring and reporting of the quality and delivery of cardiac rehabilitation across Australia.

The Heart Foundation strongly recommends that all Australians who experience a heart event are referred to and attend a cardiac rehabilitation program. Cardiac rehabilitation supports long-term lifestyle changes, improving patients’ quality of life and reducing hospital re-admissions.

Yet Australian rates of cardiac rehabilitation uptake are low: a recent study of 49,000 patients showed that only 30% of patients were referred to cardiac rehabilitation and of these only 28% attended¹. Healthcare professionals often play a critical role in patient participation in cardiac rehabilitation through advocating for and referring patients to local services.

Australian healthcare professionals also contribute to the continuous optimization of our healthcare systems by sharing the evidence-base of the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation and promoting good practice in service delivery. This is vital to further develop and explore different models of cardiac rehabilitation.