Australian researchers are leading a global push to transform how people recover after a heart attack, shifting from short-term cardiac rehabilitation to lifelong heart health support.
A major new international roadmap published this week in Nature Reviews Cardiology and led by Australian researcher and former Heart Foundation fellow, Professor Julie Redfern, of Bond University in Gold Coast, calls for a fundamental rethink of care for people living with cardiovascular disease.
The new roadmap, an initiative of the World Heart Federation, proposes reimagining ‘cardiac rehabilitation’ with a broader focus as ‘cardiovascular health programs’.
These programs emphasise lifelong care, helping people manage their condition, reduce their risk factors, and living well while also preventing future events.
Heartbeat Victoria branches support good health management with peer support, walking programs, and information sessions, and align well to this work by the World Heart Federation.
You can read a summary of the roadmap here, and see the Heart Foundation’s media release here.