Since the acceptance of the beneficial effects of early mobilisation for patients after myocardial infarction, cardiac rehabilitation has undergone dramatic change. Highly structured and inflexible exercise programmes have given way to flexible and comprehensive modern programmes, which embrace the use of education, counselling and risk factor modification principles. Contemporary skills required by occupational therapists include being able to adapt services to a vast array of cardiac conditions, foster risk factor modification, enhance compliance, tailor education to learning and coping styles, assess the patient's level of risk and need for rehabilitation, and provide accelerated and alternate programmes. This article discusses the principles, directions and benefits of modern cardiac rehabilitation and the implications for occupational therapists.
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