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Physical Activity, Weight Loss, and Cardiac Rehabilitation to Reduce Recurrent Cardiovascular Events

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Abstract

Contemporary studies now suggest that multifactorial risk factor modification—especially smoking cessation, more intensive dietary modifications, pharmacotherapies to control hyperlipidemia, antihypertensive regimens, weight reduction, and regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity—may reduce the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events. Although better outcomes for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality have been reported in some overweight and moderately obese cohorts of patients with cardiovascular disease (the “obesity paradox”), numerous reports now support purposeful weight reduction in this escalating patient population. Moreover, cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest prognostic indicators in persons with coronary disease, irrespective of traditional risk factors, body habitus, and left ventricular function. Accordingly, sedentary patients should be counseled to become more physically active and/or fit by starting an exercise program, increasing lifestyle activity, or both. Despite the effectiveness and safety of cardiac rehabilitation, these services remain vastly underutilized. Cardiac rehabilitation has been shown to markedly improve the cardiovascular risk factor profile and is associated with significant reductions in all-cause and cardiac mortality.

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  1. Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Laboratories, William Beaumont Hospital, 4949 Coolidge Highway, Royal Oak, MI, 48073, USA

    Barry A. Franklin, Jenna Brinks & Amy Fowler

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  1. Barry A. Franklin
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Correspondence to Barry A. Franklin.

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Franklin, B.A., Brinks, J. & Fowler, A. Physical Activity, Weight Loss, and Cardiac Rehabilitation to Reduce Recurrent Cardiovascular Events. Curr Cardiovasc Risk Rep 5, 358–367 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-011-0176-2

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