Whilst you are working in your local cardiology ward, one of the nursing staff approaches you and asks, in general, which patients are very high risk and will need specialist assessment prior to referral for the exercise component of your local cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programme.
Which one of the following statements is correct?
A. Patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease or those who have received an implantable cardiac defibrillator should never be referred for cardiac rehabilitationCR should be offered to all patients following an acute MI and those undergoing a CABG or angioplasty. CR should also be offered to patients with chronic heart failure and unstable angina with disabling symptoms. Increasingly there is also evidence to support the benefit for other patient groups including those with congenital heart disease, post cardiac transplantation, and those with implantable cardiac defibrillators. High-risk patients should participate in exercise sessions based in a safe environment with access to a defibrillator and staff trained in advanced life support. High-risk patients include those with:
exercise testing with marked ST depression ≥2 mm or angina at <5 METs (3 minutes of a Bruce protocol).
Patients unsuitable for exercise training include those with: