Cardiac Rehabilitation

Our Cardiac Rehabilitation team consists of a team of nurses, exercise instructors, pharmacists, physiotherapists, dieticians and psychological health practitioners. We also work very closely with the team of cardiologists.

We hope this page will be useful for patients and family members in learning about what Cardiac Rehabilitation is, who it is for, how it is delivered and much more. 

What is cardiac rehabilitation?

Cardiac rehabilitation relates to activities that are known to help and support people in taking responsibility for their health after a cardiac issue. It aims to inform, educate, and reassure people that with the right support they can understand and take control of their condition. It can also help to reduce the chance of admission to hospital with a future cardiac event and improve your cardiovascular health.

Cardiac rehabilitation offers a wide range of options to aid recovery and support you in managing your own health condition. We tailor these rehabilitation options to the individual needs of each patient.

Who is cardiac rehabilitation for?

Cardiac rehabilitation is for patients who have had heart attacks (myocardial infarction or MI), elective stenting procedures, heart failure, valve, bypass, congenital and heart transplantation surgery.

Why do I need cardiac rehabilitation?

You may feel even though you have had a cardiac event, you are already fit and healthy enough and do not need to participate. However recent research shows patients who did not complete a programme had a higher incidence of adverse cardiac events during long-term follow-up than their counterparts who completed the programme1. Cardiac rehabiltation has also shown to reduce cardiovascular mortality and hospital admissions2, reduce all-cause mortality and risk of further cardiac events and improve quality of life3.

1Patients who do not complete cardiac rehabilitation have an increased risk of cardiovascular events during long-term follow-up - PMC (nih.gov)

2Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for coronary heart disease - PMC (nih.gov)

3Cost-effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation: a systematic review | Heart (bmj.com)

How is cardiac rehabilitation delivered?

We run a variety of tailored education and exercise programmes specific to the needs and goals of each patient.

Our exercise programmes target strength and balance as well as cardiovascular endurance.

As well as the variety of locations to attend in Peterborough, including evening exercise classes, there is also the option of doing a home or face-to-face exercise programme for up to 8 weeks.