Cardiac rehabilitation: Fit to face the future?

The accessibility and effectiveness of health services for people with coronary heart disease (CHD) have never been more important: more people are living longer with symptomatic CHD in high-income, middle-income and low-income countries. Healthy behaviours can reduce likelihood of premature death in people with CHD by threefold. Yet, despite the existence of guidelines for cardiac rehabilitation for over 20 years, around 60%–70% of patients do not receive optimal secondary prevention. Possibly, as few as 1 in 10 eligible patients are referred to, participate in and then complete cardiac rehabilitation.