Cardiac Rehabilitation
Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a medically supervised program that helps people recover after a heart attack, heart surgery, heart failure, or other serious heart problem. A standard program usually includes about 36 sessions of supervised exercise, education on heart-healthy living (including quitting tobacco), and counseling to manage stress and support mental health.
Cardiac rehabilitation is delivered by a team of professionals, such as cardiologists, nurses, exercise specialists, dietitians, and counselors, who work together to help patients rebuild strength, manage risk factors, and prevent future heart problems.
For people recovering from a heart attack, surgery, or other cardiac event, stopping tobacco use and participating in cardiac rehabilitation are two of the most powerful steps they can take to protect their hearts. Smoking dramatically increases the risk of recurrent heart attacks, strokes, and early death, while quitting reduces that risk within months and continues to improve cardiovascular health over time. Cardiac rehabilitation provides a structured setting where patients receive supervised exercise, education, and counseling on risk factors such as smoking, diet, stress, and medications. Evidence shows that both smoking cessation and cardiac rehabilitation independently reduce mortality and hospitalizations, and when they are combined, patients gain even greater benefits. This makes cardiac rehabilitation a critical opportunity for Tobacco Treatment Specialists to support quitting, reinforce motivation, and help patients stay engaged in both their cessation plan and their rehabilitation program.
ENGAGE-CR training is part of broader national efforts to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Million Hearts, a national initiative co-led by CDC and CMS, aims to prevent 1 million cardiovascular events in five years by decreasing tobacco use, improving smoking cessation, and increasing participation in cardiac rehabilitation. NACDD partners with Million Hearts to increase awareness of cardiac rehabilitation, improve referral of eligible patients, and reduce barriers to enrollment, especially for populations that have historically been underrepresented in cardiac rehabilitation. Despite strong evidence that cardiac rehabilitation reduces readmissions, mortality, and costs, fewer than 1 in 3 eligible patients in the United States currently participate. By equipping Tobacco Treatment Specialists to introduce cardiac rehabilitation and encourage conversations with healthcare providers, this course directly supports the Million Hearts goal of expanding access to both evidence-based tobacco cessation treatment and cardiac rehabilitation.