"Despite considerable progress in prevention and treatment heart disease httpshealth.usnews.comhealthnewsblogseatrunheartdiseasewomenspublichealthenemyno continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States. When patients suffer from a heart attack or other cardiac event its critical that they get appropriate care and adopt lifestyle changes to prevent future damage. Participating in a cardiac rehabilitation program httpshealth.usnews.comhealthnewspatientadvicearticlescardiacrehabboostingyourheartrecovery has been proven to be particularly effective in helping patients recover and stay healthy. Research indicates that CR improves fiveyear mortality rates by  to  percent for patients following a heart attack or other cardiac event. In fact CR has been given a Class A recommendation by the American Heart AssociationAmerican College of Cardiology Foundation for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease making it a critical component of the standard of care. In recent years Intensive cardiac rehabilitation programs have been created as enhanced alternatives to ordinary CR. Patients and their physicians choose ICR programs over CR for at least three reasons they are backed by published clinical evidence supporting their efficacy they offer more complete education and exercise to improve patients health and they achieve greater patient adherence to the prescribed course of care. ICR Programs Have Documented Results Medicare covers both CR and ICR but only ICR programs are required to meet specific efficacy standards. Each Medicareapproved ICR program must demonstrate through peerreviewed published research that it has a positive impact on cardiac outcomes such as decreasing the need for bypass surgery httpshealth.usnews.combesthospitalsrankingscardiologyandheartsurgery or stenting and reduces specific risk factors for cardiovascular disease. One of the Medicareapproved programs Pritikin ICR is based on a lifestyle change program that has more than  peerreviewed studies validating its effectiveness including significantly reducing levels of cholesterol httpshealth.usnews.comhealthnewspatientadvicearticleskeepingyourcholesterolincheck and triglycerides body mass index and blood pressure as well as reducing risk factors for diabetes breast cancer prostate cancer and other comorbidities. R. James Barnard Ph.D. a researcher at the University of CaliforniaLos Angeles and a coauthor of many of these studies says These studies have consistently shown the value of a more comprehensive approach to health  combining exercise with proper nutrition and a healthy mindset  at preventing controlling or reversing common diseases including heart disease diabetes and hypertension and have proven the longterm sustainability of these lifestyle changes httpshealth.usnews.comhealthnewspatientadvicearticlesexercisingforyourheartinthenewyearandbeyond. When physicians refer their cardiac patients to an ICR program they can have confidence knowing that the program has been proven to be effective. ICR Offers More InDepth Education on Lifestyle Change In practice ordinary CR is undertaken in a series of up to  individual sessions and patients typically spend most of that time on exercise rather than education and counseling to modify cardiac risk factors. In contrast Medicare covers  sessions of ICR allowing patients to supplement the exercise portion of ordinary CR with an indepth education about the relationship between lifestyle and cardiovascular health. Each day of ICR includes both an exercise class and at least one class with practical lessons on how to make better nutrition choices manage stress stop smoking or maintain a positive attitude. This type of education is crucial for many patients to recover from a cardiovascular event and optimize their health going forward. Dr. Albert Krause cardiac rehab medical director at CHRISTUS Health in ShreveportBossier Louisiana said that ICR allows hospitals to provide cardiac patients with a comprehensive education about critical lifestyle changes following a heart attack or other cardiac event. It is an essential component of our continuum of care complementing the surgical and medical treatments we offer to improve patients longterm outcomes. ICR Achieves Better Patient Engagement ICR programs also have improved patient engagement compared to ordinary CR. A study recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine httparchinte.jamanetwork.comarticle.aspxarticleID found that only  percent of eligible cardiac patients are referred by their physician to a CR program and only onethird of those patients actually attend the program. These patients attend an average of  to  sessions of ordinary CR despite being prescribed up to  sessions. In comparison a review of a sample of hospitals that recently implemented ICR programs all experienced a significantly higher level of patient adherence to the prescribed course of rehabilitation. Most of these hospitals averaged over  sessions per patient in the second half of   over double the industry average for ordinary CR. As Dr. John Harvey president and medical director of Oklahoma Heart Hospital says Patients report high levels of satisfaction with ICR and feel encouraged to stick with the program and adopt a heart healthy lifestyle. Craig Reiss MD FACC is Division Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at the St. Lukes Hospital Heart  Vascular Institute in Chesterfield Mo. which is affiliated with Cleveland Clinics Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart  Vascular Institute. Craig Reiss M.D. https Contributor Tags health https patients https patient advice https For Better https Heart Health https_health heart disease https"