Cardiac Rehabilitation Outpatient Program

Cardiac rehabilitation describes all measures used to help people with heart disease return to an active and satisfying life and to prevent recurrence of cardiac events.  Cardiac rehabilitation services should be provided in collaboration with the patient’s cardiac specialist, general practitioner and other health professionals who retain overall responsibility for the patient’s management.  It should be integrated into the routine management of all patients, commencing at the bedside soon after admission to hospital.

Both the National Heart Foundation of Australia* and the World Health Organisation recommend that cardiac rehabilitation services should be available, and routinely offered, to everyone with cardiovascular disease and be delivered by trained health professionals.

Services should include physical activity, health education, counselling, behaviour modification strategies and support for self-management. They should be tailored to meet the individual and cultural needs of the client and their family.

The Cardiac Rehabilitation Outpatient Program offers a 9 week supervised exercise program, in conjunction with weekly heart health information sessions with a self-management focus.  Topics include:

• Understanding heart disease and it’s risk factors
• Your medications explained
• Healthy eating for the heart
• Energy conservation & stress management
• Returning to work
• Diabetes
• Exploring the myths of physical activity

Referral

Referral into the Cardiac Rehabilitation Outpatient Program is accepted from a medical practitioner, other health professional or referring hospital. Self-referrals are also accepted.  Referral methods accepted include:

• e-referral via Trakcare - for inpatients from acute wards
• Facsimile
• Service Coordination Tool Templates (SCTT)
• Phone or verbal referral
• Self-referral

Last modified: 9 March, 2016