Exercise Prescription of Patients with Heart Failure Before and After Heart Transplantation

Introduction While the mortality from stroke and heart attack is declining in industrialized countries, the incidence and prevalence of heart failure is growing dramatically without reduction in annual mortality [1,2] . Many patients worldwide are also undergoing orthotopic heart transplantation which is now an accepted treatment for patients with end-stage heart disease. As a result cardiac rehabilitation programs in the 21st century face the challenge of having to accommodate a growing number of more complex and severely ill patients.