Article

Despite major improvements in diagnostics and interventional therapies,
cardiovascular diseases remain a major health care and socio-economic burden both
in western and developing countries, in which this burden is increasing in close
correlation to economic growth. Health authorities and the general population
have started to recognize that the fight against these diseases can only be won
if their burden is faced by increasing our investment on interventions in
lifestyle changes and prevention. There is an overwhelming evidence of the
efficacy of secondary prevention initiatives including cardiac rehabilitation in
terms of reduction in morbidity and mortality. However, secondary prevention is
still too poorly implemented in clinical practice, often only on selected
populations and over a limited period of time. The development of systematic and
full comprehensive preventive programmes is warranted, integrated in the
organization of national health systems. Furthermore, systematic monitoring of
the process of delivery and outcomes is a necessity. Cardiology and secondary
prevention, including cardiac rehabilitation, have evolved almost independently
of each other and although each makes a unique contribution it is now time to
join forces under the banner of preventive cardiology and create a comprehensive
model that optimizes long term outcomes for patients and reduces the future
burden on health care services. These are the aims that the Cardiac
Rehabilitation Section of the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention
& Rehabilitation has foreseen to promote secondary preventive cardiology in
clinical practice.
CI - (c) The European Society of Cardiology 2012 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Langue : ANGLAIS