Cardiac rehabilitation: a review of current developments

An overview is given of the current status of cardiac rehabilitation and its effects on morbidity and mortality. While there is an emphasis in most current programs upon physical exercise as an important autonomous risk factor for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), there is at the same time a tendency in cardiac rehabilitation to go beyond mere physical exercise towards adding more multimodal psychoeducational modules in rehabilitation programs; those approaches are aimed at educating the patient about a less risky and healthier way of life. Such psycho-education is more and more aimed at the "toxic" aspects of negative emotions. The in-between classic Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP) might, in general, be less powerful in predicting later CHD morbidity or mortality than some specific emotional components of TABP, such as anger and hostility. The literature is reviewed as to risk factors and CHD and the role of negative affectivity in development and or maintenance of CHD. Approaches for modification are discussed against the background of their effectivity in cardiac rehabilitation. The recent Dutch guidelines, issued by the Dutch Heart Foundation, appear to incorporate many of the elements mentioned in the research literature on cardiac rehabilitation. On a scientific level they form an excellent audit to evaluate and to contour efficiently the until-now very heterogeneous field of cardiac rehabilitation.