Social Aspects of Cardiovascular Rehabilitation

T'IE enormity of the problem of heart disease with its physical implications is well known, but its effect on the socioeconomic structure of the family, eommuiniity and government is nlot realized byall in the medical profession. That heart disease is the leading cause of death;1 that a per cent of working people are afflicted;' that 400,000 people with coronary artery disease are being added to the labor market yearly ;2 that it exacts its heaviest toll from those with the greatest responsibility over 40 years of age3 are readily appreciated facts. That 653,000 manl-years are lost each year as a result of cardiovascular disease and that this loss was equivalent to $2,468,340,000 in earninigs alone in 1933,1 are but a few of the statistics that one reads frequently and might readily comprehend. But the social implications are niot widelv uniderstood nor are the resources of combating the problem a matter of coinmon knowledge. What do all these staggering statistics signify? They mean that a progressively larger number of people will be depenident upon their families anid governmenital aid, unless they can support themselves. Experience with the disabled cardiac patient indicates more and more the importance of collaborationi between the physician and other helping disciplines. The spectrum of rehabilitation with its physical, emotional, economie, and social componien-its inieludes a range of skills outside the competenee of any one discipline. Coordiniated efforts of the physician, social worker, nurse, rehabilitation counsellor, occupationial thera-