Cardiac rehabilitation in the United Kingdom. How complete is the provision?

Abstract

Purpose: To bring up-to-date information about all the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) units in the UK, including their staffing and the services they offer, and to determine the numbers and diagnoses of the patients they treat.

Methods: Questionnaire survey to establish the continued functioning of the centers, the disciplines of their staff, the number of patients treated, their diagnoses, and the outcomes measured.

Results: 286 centers were identified. Of the 236 who returned their questionnaires, 171 (72%) gave figures of the numbers and diagnoses of their patients. The median number treated in the different programs was 150, with a total of 32,499 patients. Of those, 63% were recovering from myocardial infarction, 25% from coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), and 4% from percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Twenty-four percent of patients were female, 87% were between the ages of 40 and 74, and 10% were older than 75. Of the responders, 80 (34%) performed an exercise test both before and after the course. Of the 171 who gave figures, 113 (66%) measured outcomes.

Conclusions: In the UK, between 14% and 23% of infarct patients, between 33% and 56% of CABG patients, and between 6% and 10% of PTCA patients are enrolled into CR programs.