Cardiac rehabilitation

Cardiac disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the adult population in the United States. The rates of morbidity and mortality from cardiac disease have been steadily declining owing to more aggressive management and public heath awareness. Still, the death rate of coronary artery disease (CAD) was 228.1 per 100,000 population in 1970, and 94.9 per 100,000 in 1994. CAD is also one of the main causes of disability in the United States, with an estimated 7.9 million Americans age 15 years and older with disabilities from cardiovascular conditions in 1991-1992, representing approximately 19% of disabilities from all conditions. Cardiac disease also accounts for a large portion of the total health care expenditures. In 1992, there were 3.9 million hospital admissions, including 2.1 million hospital admissions for myocardial infarction (MI), 800,000 admissions for congestive heart failure (CHF), and 550,000 admissions for arrhythmias. Procedures are also a large part of the hospitalizations, with more than 1 million cardiac catheterizations and 300,000 coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG) performed.