2026 ESC Guidelines on cardiac rehabilitation
The first ESC guideline devoted to cardiac rehabilitation, endorsed by ESPRM and WONCA. Rehabilitation now starts before the procedure — phase 0 is prehabilitation — and runs through inpatient, supervised post-acute and long-term phases as one continuum. The eligible population widens well past coronary disease to valvular and congenital disease, atrial fibrillation, devices, cardiomyopathies, frailty and, newly, patients on cardiotoxic cancer therapy. Digital and remote delivery gets a chapter of its own, patient-reported outcomes and experiences become Class I in everyone with an indication, obesity pharmacotherapy moves inside the programme, and a Class III recommendation states plainly that rehabilitation must not be withheld because a patient is frail or comorbid.
This guideline cites 3 of the 199 landmark trials in our Cardiology register.
Exercise training in heart failure2
Beyond coronary disease1
- 2017RESET-HCMCardiology · HF · Exercise in cardiomyopathyRandomised Exploratory Study of Exercise Training in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Published since the guideline2
- 2026Remote Exercise SWEDEHEARTCardiology · Coronary · Cardiac rehabilitationRemote Exercise SWEDEHEART Study — a Multicentre Registry-based Cluster Randomised Crossover Clinical Trial (RRCT)
- 2026NEXAFCardiology · AF · ExerciseThe Norwegian Exercise in Atrial Fibrillation Trial