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Review
. 2025 Dec;57(1):2519680.
doi: 10.1080/07853890.2025.2519680. Epub 2025 Jun 16.

Seize the advantages of cardiac rehabilitation

Yahui Zhang  1 , Shangwei Huang  1 , Bin Liu  2 , Ying Li  1
Affiliations
Review

Seize the advantages of cardiac rehabilitation

Yahui Zhang et al. Ann Med. 2025 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a multidisciplinary intervention encompassing medical therapy, exercise training, nutritional guidance, psychological support, and smoking cessation. While CR demonstrates proven efficacy in controlling cardiovascular risk factors, improving myocardial ischemia, and reducing mortality in cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients, its global adoption rate remains critically low despite these established benefits.

Core components: As the cornerstone of CR, sports training programs not only enhance muscular strength, systemic endurance, and cardiopulmonary fitness but also yield significant secondary benefits, such as ameliorating cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms, improving balance and coordination, and facilitating behavioral modification for sustainable lifestyle changes. These synergistic effects collectively optimize patients' physiological, psychological, and social functioning.

Clinical significance: For CVD patients, CR serves as a vital transitional phase, accelerating functional recovery, improving quality of life, and promoting successful societal reintegration.

Keywords: Cardiac rehabilitation; cardiovascular diseases; exercise training; life quality.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Community-telehealth CR model. This model monitors patient data through intelligent devices, doctors remotely develop personalized plans, and combines online guidance with home training.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Five aspects of CR. Exercise, drug, smoking, diet and psychology.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Three stages of CR. It shows that Phase I to Phase III is a gradual process. It presents the training aim and exercise type of each phase.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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