There a unanimous agreement among the health practitioners and the global population that cardiovascular diseases and continue to be the leading killer of humankind globally. Surveys that have been done in different countries indicate that 30% of all deaths globally are caused by cardiovascular related infections rather diseases (Anderson et al, 2016).
It is because of this that there have been several studies published all over the world on prevention and diagnosis of these killer diseases. Fortunately, the wide research and improved technology in the recent past have reduced deaths that results from cardiovascular diseases. American heart association in 2009 reported a reduction in coronary heart failure diseases by almost 23%, which is a very huge effort by the medical practitioners and technologists. Apart from the improvements in technology, medical practitioners through practice and through research have been able to develop programs that have helped patients with cardiovascular problems to live on irrespective of their health conditions. One of such innovative program is the cardiac rehabilitation (Anderson et al, 2016). The main goal of cardiac rehabilitation is to reduce readmission, deaths, disabilities and recurrent heart failures among the survivors. The question that most people have been asking themselves is how cardiac rehabilitation can achieve all these goals. This study will review literature that has been published recently to understand the correlation between cardiac rehabilitation to the reducing number of deaths from cardiovascular infections.
Historical Development of Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs
According to the study that was done by Anderson et al, (2016), it is apparent that cardiac rehabilitation is not a new practice rather medical phenomenon in medical realms. There is sufficient evidence that indicate the presence of such rehabilitation programs as early as 1940s. However, it is also evident from the study that serious focus on the programs in medicine took shape in early 1950s to use the cardiovascular rehabilitation programs to prevent death, readmission, recurrent coronary attacks and disability among the patients. World health organization defined cardiac rehabilitation as the total activities needed to ensure the best physical, mental and social conditions to enable patients to return to their place in the community in order to conduct active and productive lives, (Anderson et al, 2016). Since then, researchers have included different strategies that include lifestyle modification, counseling, education and physical exercises in the programs.
Different medical agencies that include the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, coupled with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (AHCPR) published guidelines for CR in the USA. The Europes Department of Healths National Service Framework in Europe published the European standards in 2000. Other Western health-care organizationsAmerican college of Cardiology, American Heart Association, European Heart Associationhave strongly suggested guidelines for CR, which are updated, periodically, (Anderson et al, 2016). The diversities in the different guidelines of cardiac rehabilitation means that there is no internationally agreed standard which has made the practice not to be popular in developing nations which because of improving surgery due to technology are trying to establish their own protocols. It was because of this that this literature review was merited; as it will provide wide literature which developing, nations can use to establish their own protocols. It is also important, as it will provide a clear understanding on the role of cardiac rehabilitation in patients who are faced with cardiovascular diseases.
Research Question
