2020

Hautala, Arto J.; Laukkanen, Jari; Mäkikallio, Timo H.

Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is well-documented and justified integral part of disease management in stable coronary heart disease patients. CR programs are defined as multifactorial and comprehensive, with physical activity counseling and exercise training as key components in all rehabilitation and preventive interventions. The physiological and clinical benefits of exercise-based CR are widely established with similar benefits for women and men and advanced aged patients as well. In patients with cardiovascular disease, exercise-based CR elicits favorable effects on the cardiac function, endothelium and skeletal muscle resulting to an improvement of quality of life, cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal fitness, and left ventricular ejection fraction, resulting in reduced morbidity and mortality.