2025 AHA Cardiac Rehabilitation in Women Scientific Statement Now Available

Published: November 04, 2025

The American Heart Association (AHA) recently released a scientific statement, Cardiac Rehabilitation in Women: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Within the statement, the AHA described the underrepresentation of women in cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Traditional CR programs can fall short of addressing the specific, unique needs of women, which leads to lower completion rates among eligible women.

The AHA statement outlines, across seven sections, how women can potentially benefit more from CR than they currently do. The seven sections are listed below, and then briefly summarized. For a complete look at the AHA statement, view our overview page and the full-text version of the statement.

Seven Key Sections of the 2025 AHA CR in Women Statement:

Specific Benefits of CR and Physical Activity in Women
Barriers to CR Access for Women
Additional Rehabilitative Needs for Women: Mental Health and Social Support
Evidence-based Solutions for CR Implementation Among Women
Special Considerations in CR for Women
Health Equity in CR
Opportunities to Enhance CR for Women: Next Steps

Specific Benefits of CR and Physical Activity in Women

The AHA statement outlines the results of several studies that have shown improved benefits for women partaking in CR. The statement then breaks the benefits down into three key factors: improved health status, fewer cardiovascular events, and cost savings.

Barriers to CR Access for Women

The statement emphasizes that location-specific solutions are required to address the unique needs of women around the world, based on their location. Additional barriers that are more prevalent to women include lower referral rates, being a primary caregiver, social isolation, lower levels of education, age, transportation difficulties, and lack of insurance. These barriers are often amplified in underrepresented racial or ethnic groups.

Additional Rehabilitative Needs for Women: Mental Health and Social Support

CR in women should also focus on addressing other rehabilitative needs women experience, primarily the unique psychosocial needs of women. The AHA statement points out that women attending CR following coronary revascularization experience poorer baseline psychosocial health than men, and show smaller improvements in health-related quality of life after CR.

The statement relays the fact that these mental health challenges can lead to additional cardiovascular events. An example given is how mental stress is an established trigger for spontaneous coronary artery dissection and myocardial ischemia.

Evidence-Based Solutions for CR Implementation Among Women

The AHA statement supports focused interventions for augmenting CR participation for women to optimize their cardiovascular outcomes. A suggested push for automatic electronic referrals with liaison or case management strategy can increase enrollment for women. Targeted education is also a strategy to be considered. Increasing participation and engagement is key, and peer support programming can be beneficial for women.

Special Considerations in CR for Women

This section details the benefits of cardiorespiratory fitness in women, and the importance of tailoring CR programs to the broader range of preferences women have, making room for options including yoga, dance, tai chi, etc., and a larger emphasis on the social components of it all. The section addresses concerns regarding CR after SCAD, Ischemia, cancers, and more.

Health Equity in CR

The AHA states that CR programs should be culturally competent and tailored to the needs of women from different underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, with considerations for those specific groups’ attitudes toward chronic diseases.

Opportunities to Enhance CR for Women: Next Steps

In the final section, the AHA statement outlines a strategy for achieving the goal of greater cardiac rehabilitation access and participation in women. The steps presented include: increasing awareness and referrals, expanding access, providing culture- and gender-sensitive programming, providing tailored support, and promoting research and innovation.