How To Help Cardiac Patients Reduce Risk Factors

In brief: People at high risk for myocardial infarction, as well as those who have already sustained one, can use behavior modification to improve their future cardiac health. Yet many continue with unhealthy habits, ignore medical advice, and drop out of valuable rehabilitation programs. An overall restructuring of the process of treating cardiac patients is necessary to help make rehabilitative-and preventive-efforts more effective. This restructuring must include the education of all medical personnel involved in cardiac rehabilitation to convey consistent, unambiguous, and mutually supportive information at each step of the way.