WebMD

…”Cardiac Rehab: More Is Better”

“Medicare recipients are entitled to 36 cardiac rehab sessions following hospitalization for heart attacks, bypass surgery, or many other heart-related events, yet most eligible patients end up attending far fewer sessions or none at all.

“In an effort to determine if more is better when it comes to cardiac rehabilitation, researchers analyzed data from 5% of the nation’s Medicare beneficiaries, including more than 30,000 heart patients who had participated in at least one cardiac rehabilitation session between 2000 and 2005.

“About half the patients attended 24 sessions or fewer, biostatistician and study researcher Bradley G. Hammill, MS, tells WebMD.

(Emphasis added below)

“Over roughly four years of follow-up, patients who attended all 36 reimbursed sessions were:

• 47% less likely to die and 31% less likely to have a heart attack as patients who attended just one.
• 22% less likely to die and 23% less likely to have a heart attack than patients who attended 12 sessions.
• 14% less likely to die and a 12% less likely to have a heart attack than patients who attended 24 sessions.”

“The study will appear in the upcoming issue of the American Heart Association journal Circulation.”

Source: WebMD, December 21, 2009

Citation: Circulation, journal publication date listed to be determined on its website, 2010