Cardiac Rehabilitation

Cardiac Rehabilitation is a comprehensive education and exercise program for people recovering from a cardiac event or those at risk of developing coronary artery disease.

Key points

Participants benefit from personalised support and advice, group education, peer support and a supervised exercise program
The program involves 8 exercise and education sessions, delivered either online or in person
We accept internal and external referrals
There is no cost to patients for this program

Patients need a referral from their GP or healthcare provider. Access referral information

What we do

The Cardiac Rehabilitation program will help you:

Safely increase your levels of physical activity through structured exercise, personalised to your needs
Learn about heart health, nutrition and lifestyle changes to improve your health
Receive support to help manage your condition and reduce your risk of future cardiac events
Connect with others experiencing similar challenges

Who can use our service

Cardiac Rehabilitation is recommended for anyone who has or has had:

Heart attack
Coronary artery disease
Risk factors for heart disease
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Heart valve surgery

How we deliver this service

Cardiac Rehabilitation at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) is made up of 8 sessions, available either online or in a face-to-face setting.

All sessions include both exercise and education. The sessions are led by a specialist Cardiac Nurse and Exercise Physiologist, with other allied health professionals contributing to the education component.

Virtual (online) program

Online sessions are delivered through Microsoft Teams at the following times:

Tuesdays 10.15am to 11.30am
Thursdays 1.30pm to 2.30pm

Participants may choose to attend one session per week over 8 weeks, or both Tuesday and Thursday sessions over 4 weeks.

Face-to-face program

Our face-to-face sessions are held at the RMH Royal Park on Tuesdays from 9am to 11am.

The face-to-face program is delivered once per week over 8 weeks.

For patients

For health professionals

Appointments

What to bring

Every time you come

Every time you come in for a test, day procedure, surgery or treatment, you should bring:

Medicare card
Health Care card (if you have one)
Concession card (if you have one)
Adverse drug alert card (if you have one)
Medications you are currently taking, including any that you have bought without a prescription
X-ray films, scans, ultrasounds or any other test results you have which are related to your procedure
Private health insurance card (if you want to use it)
Aids (glasses, hearing aid, walking frame)