Current Status of Cardiac Rehabilitation in China: A Cross-sectional National Survey.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the current status of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in China by assessing its national availability, program characteristics, and key barriers to implementation.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional nationwide survey.

SETTING

Secondary and tertiary hospitals across 31 provinces in mainland China.

PARTICIPANTS

Data were collected from 568 hospitals, including 347 secondary hospitals and 221 tertiary hospitals.

INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: National and regional availability of CR programs, operational models, staffing, equipment configuration, and perceived barriers to implementation.

RESULTS

Only 22.9% of surveyed hospitals offered CR programs, with significant regional and hospital-level variations. Tertiary hospitals were more likely to provide CR than secondary hospitals. Regionally, the central region had the highest CR implementation rate (32.0%), followed by the eastern (22.5%) and western (16.3%) regions. Urban hospitals had greater CR availability (35.0%) than rural ones (13.8%). CR programs were predominantly managed by cardiology departments (65.4%), whereas only 13.8% had dedicated CR departments. Key barriers included limited equipment, insufficiently trained personnel, financial constraints, and low awareness among patients and health care providers.

CONCLUSIONS

The availability of CR in China is critically low nationwide, indicating a systemic national shortage rather than a problem confined to rural or western regions. Nonetheless, substantial disparities persist by hospital tier, region, and urban-rural location. These findings underscore the urgent need for national policies to address this widespread shortage, strengthen professional training, and increase funding. Expanding CR access is important for optimizing functional recovery and may contribute to reducing preventable noncommunicable disease mortality, mitigating the cardiovascular disease burden, and achieving the goals of the "Healthy China 2030" initiative.