Thousands of heart attack patients are missing out on potentially life-saving rehab
Those who attend reduce their risk of death by 18 per cent over the first six to 12 months after suffering a heart attack and cut chances of readmission to hospital by 31 per cent
THOUSANDS of heart attack patients are missing out on potentially life-saving rehab, figures show.
Around 66,000 patients attended the courses in 2014/15, where they were given advice on healthy diets and exercise.
But only around half of those eligible to attend a course in England do so, the National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation reveals.
This is either because they are not offered a place or choose not to take it.
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Men are more likely than women to attend the life-saving classes, with attendance rates of 52 per cent versus 44 per cent.
A review found that patients with clinical depression almost halved from 7 per cent to 4 per cent following the programme.
And the number of patients meeting national exercise guidelines increased from 40 per cent to 70 per cent.
It’s recommended that patients who’ve suffered a heart attack or undergone angioplasty – where narrowed or blocked arteries are widened – should start cardiac rehabilitation within 33 days. However, just half of programmes are meeting this target.
Dr Mike Knapton, from the British Heart Foundation, said: “Half of heart attack patients are still missing out on this effective service and are at greater risk of suffering a deadly heart attack.
“There are also delays in patients getting access to care, with half of services failing to meet targets.
“There is variation between services which needs to be ironed out to ensure that every patient has access to cardiac rehabilitation which can reduce their risk of suffering another heart attack.”
Report author Professor Patrick Doherty, from the University of York, said: “The good news is that the UK now leads the world in uptake to cardiac rehabilitation and prevention for patients following a cardiac event or procedure, with 50 per cent of patients accessing services.
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“The bad news is that half of patients are still not accessing these services and those that do attend may receive inadequate care with nearly half of programmes failing to meet the minimum standards.”
The audit combines data from hundreds of rehabilitation centres in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A new report has also found more evidence to back up the use of aspirin in the battle to help protect against heart disease.
The new research, carried out by scientists at the University of Southern California, found the painkiller is a life-saver for elderly patients with heart disease – and, if more took the 2p-a-day drug, more would survive.