Changing the lexicon of 'Cardiac Rehabilitation': A progressive step

The questioning by Ting et al. of the use of the term ‘cardiac rehabilitation’ is insightful and timely. Continued use of this term is at odds with evolving modern risk reduction programmes, exemplified by diabetes care. The term ‘rehabilitation’ conveys an intervention from which the patient is ‘rehabilitated’. Rather than a time-limited rehabilitation period, contemporary coronary heart disease (CHD) management seeks to reduce cardiovascular risk via life-long behaviour change and ongoing care. However, revising the macro-label alone fails to recognize the severity and underlying causes of the low use of cardiac rehabilitation.