Reabilitação Cardíaca após Alta Hospitalar no Sistema Público de Saúde do Município do Rio de Janeiro Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs after Hospital Discharge in the Public Health System of Rio de Janeiro City

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is an effective strategy for the social reinsertion of people with cardiovascular disease. However, the availability of CR programs seems to be insufficient in Brazilian towns, especially in public health facilities. Objective: To identify the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) services at public hospitals in the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, emphasizing programs that include the four phases stipulated by the Brazilian Cardiology Society (BSC). Methods: Telephone calls were made to the Cardiology Departments of public hospitals in the City of Rio de Janeiro, with Internet searches through the websites of hospitals and Municipal and State Health Bureaus. Structured guidelines were used, addressing four key points: 1) investigation of the existence of a CR program at these institutions; if positive, three other points were examined: 2) the number of patients assisted by the CR service; 3) whether patients released from hospital were offered the CR service during phases II, III and IV; 4) identification of practitioners engaged in the CR program. Results: Five hospitals in the public healthcare network offer CR programs in Rio de Janeiro. However, only three of them comply with the recommendations issued by the BSC. No physical education practitioners were included in the multidisciplinary teams of these programs. Conclusions: The results show that CR is offered by a small number of hospitals linked to the public health network in the Rio de Janeiro municipality, which is extremely below the demands of this specific population.