AHRQ Supports New Initiative To Increase Participation in Cardiac Rehab

A new $6 million, three-year project funded by AHRQ is designed to save lives by increasing patient participation in cardiac rehabilitation after cardiovascular events such as heart attacks, heart failure, angioplasty or heart surgery. Only 20 percent of the nearly one million Americans who experience a qualifying event each year participate in cardiac rehabilitation despite evidence that doing so saves lives and reduces health care costs. Increasing cardiac rehabilitation participation from about 20 percent to 70 percent could save nearly 25,000 lives and prevent about 180,000 hospitalizations a year. AHRQ’s new initiative will include partnering with and training at least 100 hospitals and health systems to increase rehabilitation referrals, enrollment and retention while applying strategies in the new Cardiac Rehabilitation Change Package, a quality improvement action guide developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Access the AHRQ press release.