Guidelines for Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention Programmes

Physiotherapy December 2000/vol 86/no 12

667Book reviews

W B Saunders, London1998 (ISBN 0 7020 2234 9). Illus. 212 pages

by Genda Baum MSc MCSP £19.95This easily read handbook for those participating in exercise in water covers basic physics and physiological principles, andtouches on different client groups, for example older people,ante-natal clients, and patients with orthopaedic pathologies.

The layout, typeface, content and overall appearance are an improvement on and more professional than the author’sprevious book on aquarobics, published in 1991.

Exercises are given and programmes and classes suggested.The diagrams are simple, possibly too simple. Each exercise hasa ‘why do it’, ‘how to do it’ and progression explanation which isuseful particularly to those just starting water therapy.

The book is pitched as a training manual, especially for fitnessinstructors breaking into water classes, and is therefore of thegreatest benefit for those wanting to increase their repertoire ofexercises. There is no mention of acute problems and thereforeit does not cover everything a chartered physiotherapist wouldbe treating. But once on the shelf it would be a well-thumbedreference manual for those needing to bring something new totheir treatments.

Sarah Cox (née Rowe) MCSP

Aquarobics The training manual

Human Kinetics, Leeds1998, 3rd edn (ISBN 0 88011 817 2). Illus. 278 pages

American Association of Cardiovascular and PulmonaryRehabilitation £28.50The title of this book expresses its principal theme in a nutshell.It endeavours to explain each facet of both cardiac rehabilitationand secondary prevention and identify the guidelines requiredfor the management of programmes. The book is aimed atcardiac rehabilitation practitioners, being of most relevance toall co-ordinators, to anyone starting up a programme, and forthose looking to develop or augment their current programme.However, some information given is less relevant to UKprogrammes as this is an American publication and many of thedata and references are US-based. Despite this, the book remainsa very good reference for cardiac rehabilitation in general.

The book covers a range of subjects, from the history ofcardiac rehabilitation through inpatient and outpatientmanagement, exercise testing, behaviour modification, and risk factor management, to administrative considerations.

This third edition places more emphasis on secondary

prevention, ie lifestyle and behaviour modification, thanprevious editions. Throughout the book are comprehensiveguidelines on all areas of cardiac rehabilitation. They arehighlighted and numbered, making them easy to find and auseful reference base. There are also many tables and figureswhich give a variety of essential information in an easy-to-readformat, eg risk stratification, contra-indications to exercise, etc.These are augmented with a large section of appendices witheven more information, eg assessment tools and checklists.

This book is relevant to any physiotherapist who is co-ordinating or involved with a cardiac rehabilitation programme.Chapter 8 on ‘Special populations’ is particularly interesting; itdiscusses a wide range of patients who may attend rehabilitation– including older people, women, patients with heart failure,cardiac transplant patients, and people from diversebackgrounds. It gives ideas on adapting programmes toaccommodate these patients, and the more complex issues theybring with them.

The information on exercise is geared mainly towards riskstratification and monitoring rather than the actual form ofexercise or its intensity, etc. However, the book gives a generaloverview of all aspects of cardiac rehabilitation and would be avery useful reference for any health professional working in this area.

Anne Murphy MCSP

Guidelines for CardiacRehabilitation and SecondaryPrevention Programmes

Typical illustrations from‘Aquarobics’:

Top left: Figure-of-eightfor muscle strength orjoint flexibility

Centre left: Quadriceps flip

Bottom left: Balance technique for anoverweight subject

Top right: Arm flexion

Above: Wall knee rise