• Task Force per le Attività di Psicologia in Cardiologia Riabilitativa e Preventiva, Gruppo Italiano di Cardiologia Riabilitativa e Preventiva.
• Monaldi Arch Chest Dis. 2003 Sep 1;60(3):184-234.

AbstractThe purpose of these guidelines is to provide specific recommendations in regard to psychological activities in cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Based on scientific evidence and clinical experience, the present guidelines are targeted for psychologists working in the field of cardiac rehabilitation and for the core component of CR, as well as for the health care providers, insurers, policy makers and consumers. In the introduction, the framework of Italian cardiac rehabilitation and psychology as well as the methodology used are defined, in accordance with the recommendations of the National Guidelines Programme of the Italian Health Ministry. The first section illustrates the educational training and structural requirements necessary for psychologists intending to work in cardiac rehabilitation, and provides a summary of the principal models of organization. Section two describes the sequence of psychological activities based on the different phases of the process of care. The chapters devoted to selection and admission of cardiac patients define the clinical conditions for which patients should be referred to the psychologist and describe the models for the first "patient-psychologist" contact. The chapter dedicated to evaluation, which aims to identify the care needs of the patient describes the instruments available to the psychologist (interview, screening tests, clinical assessment tests, quality-of-life tests) and the areas of investigation in cardiac diseases patients. The chapter on intervention analyses the different tools including educational interventions, counselling, stress management and psychotherapy evidenced by the literature and common to the different cardiac pathologies. In the chapter on follow-up, are described tools for evaluation of patient satisfaction and for planning long-term care. Section three describes the psychological characterization and the specificity of psychological interventions in different cardiac patients populations: patients with ischemic heart disease, patients after cardiac surgery, patients with chronic heart failure, patients after heart transplantation, patients with chronic peripheral artery disease, patients with pace-maker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator, high risk patients for cardiovascular disease, over 75 years of age and finally end-stage cardiac patients. The last section describes the processes of programme evaluation, audit and patient feedback as the main instruments recommended for continuous improvement of quality of psychological care in cardiac rehabilitation. The appendices contain a flow-chart describing the course of psychological interventions, a summary of recommendations for each cardiac condition and a glossary.

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