Staffing, accepted indications, and dose of Phase II cardiac rehabilitation: country income class and time-based comparisons from the International Council of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation’s (International Council of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation's (ICCPR)) 2025 Audit Update
Authors' conclusion
CR programs globally are offered by small, but multidisciplinary teams. They accept guideline-indicated patients, with applicable variation by context. Insufficient dose in one-quarter of countries underscores investment need.
Study context
- Population
- Phase II/post-discharge cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs globallyprograms from 90 countries
- Participants
- 1,505 participants
- Exposure
- Country income classes; 2025 vs 2016 Audit
- Outcome
- Multidisciplinary team size/composition, accepted cardiac and non-cardiac indications, and centre-based CR dose
Methodological detailsREDCap survey, international audit
- REDCap survey
- International audit
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- CR team size, global
- median 7 (P25-P75=5-8)
- Team size, low-income countries (smaller; p<0.001)
- median=4
- Surgery accepted: low-income vs high-income (p<0.01)
- 0% vs 97%
- HF acceptance, 2016 vs 2025 Audit (p<0.001)
- 70% vs 87%
- Centre-based dose prescribed
- median 20 hours (P25-P75=12-30)
- Countries prescribing median ≥12 sessions/program
- 65 (72%)
- Sessions, upper-middle-income countries (more; p<0.001)
- median=24, P25-P75=12-36
- Dose did not differ meaningfully between Audits
- p=0.07
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Staffing, accepted indications, and dose of Phase II cardiac rehabilitation: country income class and time-based comparisons from the International Council of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation’s (ICCPR) 2025 Audit Update. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 28 May 2026. doi:10.
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