Blogs

JCRP at 40 Years – Looking Back and Moving Forward

By N&V Editor posted 09-18-2020
JCRP at 40 Years – Looking Back and Moving Forward By Lenny Kaminsky, PhD, FAACVPR, FAHA, FACSM; and Kate Maude This year, the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention celebrates its 40 th Anniversary, a milestone that we are grateful to mark with the help of AACVPR. Our journal started as an idea from Michael Pollock, PhD. Based on overwhelming interest and participation in a meeting he led entitled “Heart Disease and Rehabilitation” in 1978, Dr. Pollock set out to determine the need for a journal focused on the same topic. Based on an analysis of the literature on the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation, Dr. Pollock identified a ...

ChanlHealth’s Update on Reimbursement for Home-based Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Sessions - What You Need to Know

By N&V Editor posted 09-18-2020
ChanlHealth’s Update on Reimbursement for Home-based Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Sessions - What You Need to Know The following is sponsored content from Chanl Health AACVPR released a statement for members on August 12 th sharing recent CMS updates on reimbursement of home-based cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation (CPR) sessions, both during and after the Public Health Emergency (PHE). Since the start of the PHE, many CPR programs across the country have rapidly added a home-based option to their CPR services, allowing their patients to receive the care they need while reducing risk of exposure to the virus. Many patients who would not attend ...

Letter from the President: Looking Back to Move Forward to Chart New Horizons

By N&V Editor posted 09-18-2020
Letter from the President: Looking Back to Move Forward to Chart New Horizons Dear AACVPR Nation, It has been a tremendous honor to serve as your AACVPR President. I want to express a heartfelt gratitude for the AACVPR Community’s endless support and dedication during my term as President! I have stated the following words many times this year, but again, I hope everyone is well and safe in your personal, professional and community lives as we advance through the resolve of this public health emergency (PHE), the COVID-19 pandemic. This PHE has impacted our community in unprecedented and challenging ways—not the least of which is to participate in cardiopulmonary ...

Updated Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Change Package Underscores Need for Comprehensive Risk Reduction in Cardiac Rehabilitation

By N&V Editor posted 08-28-2020
Updated Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Change Package Underscores Need for Comprehensive Risk Reduction in Cardiac Rehabilitation Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the second edition of the Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Change Package (HCCP). Originally published in 2015, this updated version reflects new clinical guidelines, development of new resources, and general advances in quality improvement in the field. “ In the updated Hypertension Control Change Package we provide evidence-based tools to implement proven, effective, and high impact strategies recognizing many who are delivering best practices,” said ...

Virtually No Reason to Miss AACVPR's 2020 Annual Meeting

By N&V Editor posted 08-28-2020
Virtually No Reason to Miss AACVPR's 2020 Annual Meeting By AACVPR Programming Committee Leadership: Tom Draper,MBA, FAACVPR; Adam DeJong, MA, FACSM, MAACVPR; Hannah Muerhoff; Mark Williams, PhD, MAACVPR, FACSM; Mollie Corbett; Kate Traynor, RN, MS, MAACVPR; and Meztli Mijes There’s only one month to AACVPR’s premier event- the 35 th Annual Meeting, “ Charting New Horizons”. Little did we know when the conference theme was decided that CR and PR practice advances and changes would share center stage with a whole new format. The Program Planning Committee approached the challenge of a fully virtual meeting with the intent of delivering an educational ...

E-Cigarettes 101: What It Means for Your Patients’ Health

By N&V Editor posted 08-28-2020
E-Cigarettes 101: What It Means for Your Patients’ Health In the past decade, e-cigarettes have become increasingly popular. These portable, often-rechargeable devices allow users to consume nicotine or cannabinoids without the smell or stigma of cigarettes. But are these safer than traditional cigarettes? At a recent AACVPR webinar, Brenna VanFrank, MD, MSPH, medical officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Smoking and Health, said while there’s not enough research for experts to know exactly how e-cigarettes affect patients, it’s important for cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation professionals to understand how they work and ...

Letter from the President: We Need You to Act Now

By N&V Editor posted 07-30-2020
Letter from the President: We Need You to Act Now Dear AACVPR Nation, I hope everyone is well and safe in your personal, professional and community lives as we advance through the resolve of this public health emergency (PHE) resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This PHE has impacted us and our patients in unprecedented and challenging ways -not the least of which is to participate in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation (CPR) services in a safe and timely manner. I am writing this President’s Message to highlight the critical efforts that our Board of Directors, Subject Matter Experts, GRQ, partner associations and our AACVPR staff have executed to represent ...

COVID-19 Might Impact Future Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Research

By N&V Editor posted 07-30-2020
COVID-19 Might Impact Future Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Research By David Prince, MD The most significant event of 2020 has been the COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the globe and halted Cardiopulmonary services throughout the United States. COVID-19 is a highly transmissible RNA virus that causes respiratory disease with the potential to cause significant medical complications in vulnerable populations especially those with cardiopulmonary disease. The pandemic has had multiple impacts on the cardiopulmonary rehabilitation community and our patients. It also presents opportunities for academic research within the cardiopulmonary rehabilitation community. ...

When Can You Trust the Experts? Evaluating Nutrition Information

By N&V Editor posted 07-30-2020
When Can You Trust the Experts? Evaluating Nutrition Information When it comes to nutrition, there are a million different recommendations, fads, trends, and opinions. But are they all based on evidence? How do health practitioners differentiate between fact and fiction? In an upcoming AACVPR webinar, Joel Hughes, Ph.D., FAACVPR, and Karen Collins, MS, RDN. FAND, explore why cardiopulmonary rehabilitation staff—including registered dieticians—need to critically evaluate the claims made in the media, by research literature and by the experts, both for their patients and themselves. “Some of the most pervasive messages aren’t really based on evidence,” ...

What's Coming JCRP -- July 2020 Issue

By N&V Editor posted 06-29-2020
What's Coming JCRP -- July 2020 Issue By Lenny Kaminsky, PhD, JCRP Editor-in-Chief To get to the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention : Find JCRP online at www.jcrpjournal.com Check out the Published Ahead of Print section for new articles, which have not yet been published in the print version of jcrp We welcome Dr. Brittany Overstreet as our new Digital Media Editor. Please check out and engage with our Facebook and Twitter pages. July 2020 Issue (Volume 40, Number 1) Case Study Feasibility and Efficacy of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program in a Rehabilitation Center: Case Report of a Young Patient ...

COVID and Cardiac Rehabilitation: Rehab During a Pandemic

By N&V Editor posted 06-29-2020
COVID and Cardiac Rehabilitation: Rehab During a Pandemic By Dr. Uyen Lam, Kosowsky Cardiovascular Rehabilitation and Prevention Center Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a major public health concern with high financial burden. While overall cardiovascular mortality has decreased with advancement in medical therapies, cardiovascular disease remains the greatest cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed world. Enserro, et al studied potential causes and found the percentage of patients with ideal cardiovascular health in the past 20 years has declined 1 . The study was based on the American Heart Association (AHA) Cardiovascular Health ...

Letter from the Editor: As We Return, Tenacity is Key

By N&V Editor posted 06-29-2020
Letter from the Editor: As We Return, Tenacity is Key By Gayla Oakley, RN, CCRP, MAACVPRRN, CCRP, MAACVPR Tenacity: persistence, determination, perseverance. Along with many other characteristics of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, these, rise to the top during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we review the last six months, we see tenacity at work. CR/PR programs that have gone “above and beyond” to keep in contact with the patients providing continued care via phone calls, mail and other innovative methods, regardless of reimbursement. The leadership of AACVPR and joint affiliates has worked with determination to provide CMS with information ...

Motivational Interviewing as a Cessation Tool for Cardiac, Pulmonary and Vascular Rehab

By N&V Editor posted 06-29-2020
Motivational Interviewing as a Tobacco Cessation Tool for Cardiac, Pulmonary and Vascular Rehab For those quitting smoking, change can be very hard. Helping someone quit smoking can save his or her life, but for health care professionals trying to spark that change within their patient, it can be difficult to know exactly how to communicate. Shawn Leth, M.Ed, CEP, and Kathy Zarling, MS, APRN, CTTS, both of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Mn., recently hosted an AACVPR webinar about using motivational interviewing as a tool to help smoking cessation. Health care providers need to understand how to ask the right questions to dig deeper into what their patients ...

Argument for Early Post-COPD Exacerbation PR: Lower 1-Year Mortality

By N&V Editor posted 05-29-2020
Argument for Early Post-COPD Exacerbation PR: Lower 1-year Mortality By Gerene Bauldoff, PhD, RN, MAACVPR The impact of post-COPD exacerbation pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) has stimulated interest as the effectiveness of PR related to outcomes has moved to the forefront. In a recent article published in JAMA , Dr. Peter Lindenauer and colleagues report the findings of a retrospective cohort study using claims data from fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized in 2014. The data period was through December 31, 2015. In this study, all-cause mortality at 1-year served as the primary outcome. A Cox regression was conducted evaluating ...

Smoking Cessation is a Key Component to Effective Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab

By N&V Editor posted 05-21-2020
Smoking Cessation is a Key Component to Effective Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab When it comes to keeping your heart healthy, quitting smoking is key. Nearly 34.2 million American adults reportedly smoke cigarettes, and it continues to be a leading cause of death in the U.S. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—and AACVPR—hope to change that. For those undergoing cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, smoking cessation is essential. It’s why AACVPR teamed up with the CDC for the ninth year of the Tips From Former Smokers® (Tips®) where real people living with long-term health effects due to smoking discuss the importance of quitting. ...

Transitioning to a Remote CR During COVID-19

By N&V Editor posted 04-24-2020
Transitioning to a Remote CR During COVID-19 COVID-19 has forced many cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services to shut their doors. But for the CR team at Atrium Health in North Carolina, it’s allowed them to pivot their model of care. Adam deJong, assistant vice president of surgical services at the Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute at Atrium Health, said he and his team have adjusted their methods to accommodate their patients stuck at home—and new patients looking for care. “We had two main concerns: how are we going to track our referrals and ensure we’re getting the people who are being referred here to communicate with them and explain what ...

Letter from the Editor: We're Here for You

By N&V Editor posted 04-24-2020
Letter from the Editor: We're Here for You By Gayla Oakley, RN, CCRP, MAACVPR | News & Views Editor Who would have guessed four months ago, today we would be sheltering at home, wearing a mask into the grocery store and have had many of our programs closed for the safety of our patients. The whole world has turned upside-down as we try to understand and defend ourselves against an unknown virus, we now know as COVID-19, that has literally stopped the normal life as we knew it. There have been many challenges for cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs with different scenarios across the United States. There are programs that have completely closed, ...

AACVPR Paving the Way for Home Based Cardiac Rehabilitation

By N&V Editor posted 03-23-2020
AACVPR Paving the Way for Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Introduction from AACVPR President Ana Mola, PhD, RN, ANP-C, MAACVPR Here at AACVPR we’ve been studying the concept of innovative delivery models for both cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation for the past 18 months. The Innovative Delivery Model Collaborative (IDMC) was formed last year to foster open and consistent dialogue between AACVPR leaders, industry partners, and other professional stakeholders about the challenges, opportunities, and approaches to the real world implementation of innovative delivery models. The Collaborative has been and will continue to be critical as AACVPR considers ...

Pulmonary Rehabilitation Reimbursement – Time for All of Us to Be Part of the Solution

By N&V Editor posted 03-23-2020
Pulmonary Rehabilitation Reimbursement – Time for All of Us to Be Part of the Solution By Chris Garvey, FNP, MSN, MPA, MAACVPR Shared with permission by Trina Limberg RRT. Despite vast evidence that pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is highly effective in improving exercise tolerance, dyspnea, quality of life ( 3 ), and shortening COPD admissions ( 4 ), inadequate PR reimbursement deprives persons with lung disease of this effective intervention, with as few as ∼3% of Medicare beneficiaries with COPD receiving PR ( 5 ). All aspects of low reimbursement are not completely understood, yet providers, referring clinicians and hospital administration play a ...

Check Out the March 2020 Issue of JCRP

By N&V Editor posted 03-20-2020
Check Out the March 2020 Issue of JCRP The second issue of the 40 th year of JCRP is now available. There is an interesting commentary in this issue that summarizes the role JCRP has played in Pulmonary Rehabilitation over the past 40 years. We also have a Guest Editorial about the World Health Organization’s Rehabilitation 2030 initiative. I am sure you will appreciate this Commentary, the Editorial, the excellent Invited Review on frail older adults participation in Cardiac Rehabilitation programs, as well as the other excellent articles in this issue. JCRP is pleased to welcome two new members to our Editorial Board, Dr. Jeff Christle and Dr. Cemal ...