Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Phase I (in-hospital) begins on Day 1 after a heart attack — early mobilisation and breathing exercises prevent deconditioning and reduce hospital stay duration. Phase II (supervised outpatient programme) should begin 2–4 weeks after hospital discharge, once the patient is haemodynamically stable. Starting CR within 4 weeks of discharge is associated with significantly better functional outcomes and lower re-hospitalisation rates at 12 months. Do not wait for symptoms to improve on their own — early structured rehabilitation accelerates recovery.

Yes — supervised, graded exercise is not only safe but essential after a cardiac event. The concern that exercise is dangerous after a heart attack is a common misconception that leads to prolonged deconditioning and worse outcomes. A pre-CR exercise stress test establishes the safe heart rate range for exercise, and all supervised sessions stay within this range. Serious adverse events during supervised cardiac rehabilitation are extremely rare — approximately 1 per 1.5 million patient-hours of exercise training. The risk of inactivity far exceeds the risk of supervised exercise.

The supervised Phase II programme at Heartwise lasts 6–12 weeks, with three sessions per week — a total of 18–36 supervised sessions. After completion, patients transition to Phase III maintenance — independent exercise to a prescribed plan, with quarterly follow-up at the Heartwise clinic for medication review, ECG, and risk factor monitoring. The lifestyle changes initiated during CR are lifelong — the programme is the beginning of an ongoing commitment to cardiovascular health, not a finite treatment course.