Recommendations for Establishing Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs; Facility, Equipment and Staff: The Korean Society of Cardiac Rehabilitation (KSCR) Position Statement

ABSTRACT

The Korean Society of Cardiac Rehabilitation (KSCR) have recommended standards for establishing cardiac rehabilitation programs in terms of facility, equipment and staff. This is the first time a statement concerning these types of standards has been issued in Korea, and presents the minimal requirements for establishing cardiac rehabilitation programs. Cardiac rehabilitation facilities should contain individual spaces for patient examination, exercise stress testing, monitoring exercise training, patient education, patient preparation, storing medical records, showers and lockers, toilets, and walking tracks. Essential equipment must include at least four sets of aerobic exercise equipment such as treadmills, bicycles, arm ergometers, step machines, and floor mats, and medical equipment such as exercise stress test for ECG with gas analysis, telemetry ECG monitoring systems, sphygmomanometers, stethoscopes, pulse oximeters, glucometers, portable oxygenators, and emergency carts with defibrillators. Hospital staff should include a medical director (a physician with a subspecialty in cardiac rehabilitation), exercise physiologist, nurse specializing in cardiac rehabilitation, exercise specialist, physical therapist, and clinical nutritionist. All should have an expertise in exercise science and be trained in basic life support or advanced cardiac life support. This statement is a recommendation by KSCR and cardiac rehabilitation council of regional cardiocerebrovascular center, and set forth the standards for facilities, equipment, and staff to set up or upgrade cardiac rehabilitation programs in Korea. These recommendations should be developed as a national standard for the establishment of cardiac rehabilitation programs, and adjusted for the current situation of the Korean medical industry through nationwide and long-term research.