Acute Medical Conditions: Cardiopulmonary Disease, Medical Frailty, and Renal Failure

Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation includes essential interventions that help patients maximize functional potential due to progressive deconditioning or acute decompensation following an acute medical event. The population of patients who benefit from both cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation is increasing as the population ages and heart disease remains a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. The principles of exercise physiology when applied to this population can reverse deconditioning, build cardiopulmonary reserve, and ultimately reduce morbidity and mortality in these populations. The physically disabled also benefit from exercise conditioning. The model of cardiac rehabilitation can also be applied to improve functional status of stroke patients, and this is an emerging area of interest supported by the shared pathophysiology and risk factors of cardiovascular conditions. The benefits of supervised exercise can also be extended to patients with clinically recognized frailty and post-transplant decline in function. Frailty is a complex diagnosis with multiple tools and approaches used to describe this syndrome.