The Whittington Health (WH) cardiac rehabilitation programme consists of exercise and education to help support patients recovering from cardiac surgery or a new diagnosis of a cardiac condition.

It is run as a combination of face-to-face and telephone consultations, depending on patients' requirements. It helps patients return to normal and improved levels of activity, and encourages lifestyle changes which improve long-term well-being.

Patients are assessed prior to commencing the programme to assess individual need. There are  follow ups at three and 12 months on completion of the programme.

The core components of cardiac rehabilitation are:

• health behaviour change and education
• lifestyle risk factor management and psychological health
• medical risk factor management 
• long-term management and audit and evaluation.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusions

All trusts within the NCL have a cardiac rehab programme, but only Whittington has a referral form. Please ensure to use the cardiac rehab programme finder link to ensure the service is the patients' local provider by postcode. 

Referrals for any of the following conditions are accepted. As exercise is one of the main elements of cardiac rehabilitation, patients must have an exercise capacity of being able to walk for a continuous distance of at least 60-100m.

Patients with severe mobility limitations are welcome to attend the education sessions.

The team is always happy to discuss if you are unsure.

• acute MI
• percutaneous coronary intervention with or without stenting
• CABG
• stable heart failure either fully medically optimised or actively under Whittington Health HF team management 
• heart valve repair/replacement
• heart transplant

Exclusions

• unstable angina
• advanced heart failure
• high blood pressure (resting SBP > 200mmHg or DBP > 110mmHg)
• left ventricular outflow tract obstruction
• grade 2 and 3 AV block
• myocarditis
• active pericarditis
• severe valvular disease
• uncontrolled arrhythmias
• aortic dissection
• acute thrombophlebitis
• pulmonary or systemic embolism
• severe psychological disorders
• severe mobility limitations.
• patients who have already completed a cardiac rehabilitation programme for their current cardiac condition 

How to Refer