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Updated: May 22, 2026
04:24
A Novel Digital Platform for a Monitored Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
Published on: April 19, 2019
Frailty Screening and Management in Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs Across Canada.
Danielle Tsirulunikov1, Courtney Pollock2, Mikaela Hummel3
1Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Heart, Lung & Circulation
|May 20, 2026
Summary
Few Canadian cardiac rehabilitation programs screen for frailty, despite its link to cardiovascular disease. Barriers include lack of resources and transportation, hindering effective frailty management in these programs.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Cardiology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Frailty and cardiovascular diseases exhibit a significant bidirectional relationship.
- Understanding frailty screening and management within Canadian cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess current frailty screening and management practices in Canadian outpatient CR programs.
- To identify barriers to frailty screening and management to inform future guidelines.
Main Methods:
- A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was distributed to Canadian outpatient CR programs.
- An online questionnaire assessed frailty screening tools, management strategies, and identified barriers.
Main Results:
- Only 6.6% of surveyed programs utilized a standardized frailty screening instrument.
- Lack of resources for follow-up (77.0%) and transportation barriers (68.8%) were major challenges for frailty management.
- Home-based and virtual CR were identified as facilitators for patient access.
Conclusions:
- Canadian CR programs have low adoption rates for standardized frailty screening.
- Significant barriers impede effective frailty management, necessitating targeted interventions and guideline development.
- Further research is needed to identify and pilot a gold standard frailty screening instrument for CR programs.
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