Don't delay cardiac rehab: Early enrollment gets better results

If you're recovering from heart surgery, a heart attack, or another cardiac event, the sooner you start cardiac rehabilitation, the better. A customized exercise and lifestyle education program, cardiac
rehab has many proven benefits, including preventing future heart problems and improving quality of life.

In a study of 1,241 people referred for cardiac rehab, people who started rehab within 15 days of surgery or the heart-related event seemed to do better than those who started more than 30 days
after the event. The key differences were greater weight loss and enhanced ability to exercise, say the authors, whose report appeared online Sept. 26, 2014, in The American Journal of Cardiology.