What is cardiac recovery and who is it for?

Studies show the majority of US patients do not participate in even a single session.

Cardiac rehabilitation is indicated following a heart attack, heart surgery (stent placement, coronary artery bypass surgery, or valvular surgery) as well as for patients who chronically manage congestive heart failure or stable angina. Typical cardiac rehabilitation programs include a few components: aerobic exercise training, nutritional counseling, disease education, psychosocial support, and (if applicable) tobacco cessation. A full course includes 36 supervised aerobic exercise sessions, but cost, transportation, and wait times are often challenges to completing this course. Cardiac benefits and reduced rehospitalizations can be observed after as few as 12 sessions.

The Role of Cardiac Rehabilitation in Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes In this September 2021 Nature Review, the authors discuss the challenges that face cardiac rehabilitation, especially in the context of COVID-19. The authors emphasize a whole-person approach to cardiac recovery, focused on addressing comorbidities and empowering patients at home through technology and continuous monitoring.

Cardiac Rehab Summary - hhs.gov This resource from the US Department of Health and Human Services provides a consensus definition of cardiac rehabilitation, which patients are typically covered (driven by CMS guidelines), and links additional primary sources.

JAMA: Although Cardiac Rehab Saves Lives, Few Eligible Patients Take Part This retrospective in the Journal of the American Medical Association highlights many of the reasons why attending cardiac rehabilitation can be difficult for patients.

AHRQ: Step by Step, Improving Heart Health in America The US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality retrospective on cardiac outcomes summarizes a country-wide evaluation that revealed only 20% of eligible patients ever utilized cardiac rehabilitation services in 2019.

What’s the impact?

Engaging with cardiac rehabilitation can result in myriad benefits.

These programs have been demonstrated to reduce mortality, reduce all-cause hospitalizations, improve health-related quality of life, reduce cardiovascular risk factors, and improve perceived social support.

Home-based cardiac rehabilitation is continuous, comprehensive, and can yield significant outcomes In a randomized control trial comparing center-based versus virtual cardiac rehabilitation, virtual programs have higher engagement and superior results in lipid profile, diet, exercise, emotional well-being, and quality of life.

Participation in Cardiac Rehabilitation, Readmissions and Death After Acute Myocardial Infarction In this 10 year longitudinal study, members who participated in CR experienced 50% fewer lifetime all-cause hospitalizations.

Use of Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation Among Heart Attack Survivors In this retrospective study of approximately 600,000 heart attack survivors in the US, patients who completed cardiac rehab were 57% less likely to experience cardiac-related mortality.

Cardiac Rehabilitation: Putting More Patients on the Road to Recovery. American Heart Association This retrospective summarizes numerous past studies, which have demonstrated 45-47% reductions in all-cause mortality, improvements in lipid levels and blood pressure, and 31% lower hospital readmissions in patients undergoing cardiac rehab.

Cardiac Rehabilitation for Patients with Heart Failure: JACC Expert Panel Exercise training and cardiac recovery programs are safe and beneficial for patients with CHF, resulting in significant improvements in quality of life, functional capacity, exercise performance, and heart failure (HF)–related hospitalizations. Despite outcome benefits, cost-effectiveness, and strong practice guideline recommendations, cardiac recovery services remain a critical care gap in the treatment of heart failure.

Can people really do this at home?

Absolutely.

Home-based cardiac rehab has been both demonstrated as comparably effective and endorsed by professional societies as a comparable alternative to facility-based programs. The American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and AACVPR are supportive of home-based cardiac rehab.

Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Scientific Statement From the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Cardiology Released in 2019, this joint scientific statement concluded that home-based cardiac rehabilitation is effective for clinically stable patients who are eligible.

Saving Lives with Virtual Cardiac Rehabilitation Kaiser Permanente’s initiative across 2000 individuals demonstrated 87% engagement rates.

Effectiveness of Home-Based Mobile Guided Cardiac Rehabilitation as Alternative Strategy for Nonparticipation in Clinic-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Among Elderly Patients in Europe This randomized clinical trial’s results suggest that a 6-month home-based mobile CR program for patients 65 years or older with coronary artery disease or a valvular intervention was safe and beneficial in improving peak oxygen uptake when compared with no cardiac rehabilitation.

How is Recora effective?

Unlike most cardiac rehabilitation programs, we meet members where they are.

Our team is growing a novel value-based model to expand home-based cardiac rehabilitation and surpass payer- and patient-facing barriers to making exercise care (and even more specifically, cardiac rehabilitation programs) available to all eligible adults.

Reimagining Cardiac Rehabilitation in the Era of Coronavirus Disease 2019 COVID-19 has led to the closure of almost 80% of cardiac rehab facilities. In this piece, Recora lays out a value-based model for expanding home-based cardiac rehabilitation, improving cardiovascular outcomes, and reducing cardiovascular spend.

Evidence-Based Community Health Worker Program Addresses Unmet Social Needs And Generates Positive Return On Investment Recora’s coaches include Community Health Workers (CHWs). Three randomized controlled trials demonstrated that a standardized CHW intervention reduced all-cause hospitalizations and improved clinical outcomes. Leveraging CHWs amplifies the impacts of Recora’s clinical programs.

Multiple Levels of Influence on Older Adults’ Attendance and Adherence to Community Exercise Classes Recora hosts virtual, live exercise sessions that are personalized for patients needing rehabilitation. Our classes run on a weekly basis to encourage group exercise and community. Older adult participation in exercise classes has been shown to increase with improved quality of exercise instructors and diversity in available exercise content.

What about Care Management & Navigation?

The Transformative Role of Care Management and Care Navigation

Care management and navigation have emerged as cornerstone strategies in addressing the complexities of modern healthcare delivery. Supported by extensive research and policy advancements, these models enhance patient outcomes, reduce disparities, and improve operational efficiency.

Patient navigation programs demonstrate robust outcomes across chronic and acute conditions Patient navigation can help outcomes. Navigated patients experience a 24% higher treatment initiation rate and 19% improvement in 5-year survival rates compared to non-navigated cohorts.

Enhanced Patient Experience and Satisfaction 87% of navigated patients report higher satisfaction scores due to improved communication and reduced care fragmentation. Qualitative interviews highlight the importance of “authentic healing relationships”—continuous, empathetic support that fosters trust and motivation.

Revenue and Value of Care Management and Navigation Programs In addition to the improved patient satisfaction and improved retention, a 2025 analysis of PIN services revealed $21,798–$30,429 in cost savings per patient from avoided hospitalizations, yielding a clear win for value-based care.