Abstract: Substantial evidence indicates that comprehensive, long-term cardiac rehabilitation, involving medical evaluation, prescribed exercise, cardiac risk factor modification, education, counseling, and behavioral interventions, provides protection in primary and secondary coronary heart disease prevention. However, cardiac rehabilitation programs are greatly underused in patients with coronary heart disease. The benefits of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation on the risk factors of coronary heart disease including smoking, obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension and dysglycemia as well as overall morbidity and mortality, and quantity and quality of life were reviewed. And the related concepts, history, core components, current status and progress of cardiac rehabilitation were also discussed.

Key words: coronary heart disease, physical activity, cardiac rehabilitation, secondary prevention, review