Cardiac rehabilitation programs across Canada have suspended inperson services as a result of large-scale physical distancing recommendations designed to flatten the COVID-19 pandemic curve. Virtual cardiac rehabilitation (VCR) offers an alternate mechanism of care delivery, capable of providing similar patient outcomes and safety profiles compared with centre-based programs. To minimize care gaps, all centres should consider developing and implementing a VCR program. The process of this rapid implementation, however, can be daunting. Centres should initially focus on the collation, utilization, and R ESUM E Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs across Canada have suspended in-person, centre-based cardiac rehabilitation (CBCR) services as a result of large-scale physical distancing recommendations designed to flatten the COVID-19 pandemic curve. CBCR has unequivocally demonstrated reductions in hospital readmissions, secondary events, and mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease. 1 Significant

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised ethical questions for the cardiovascular leader and practitioner. Attention has been redirected from a system that focuses on individual patient benefit toward one that focuses on protecting society as a whole. Challenging resource allocation questions highlight the need for a clearly articulated ethics framework that integrates principled decision making into how different cardiovascular care services are prioritized. A practical application of the principles of harm minimisation, fairness, proportionality, respect, reciprocity, flexibility, and procedural justice is provided, and a model for prioritisation of the restoration of cardiovascular services is outlined. The prioritisation model may be used to determine how and when cardiovascular services should be continued or restored. There

It is now widely recognized that COVID-19 illness can be associated with significant intermediate and potentially longer-term physical limitations. The term “Long COVID-19” is used to define any patient with persistent symptoms after acute COVID-19 (i.e. after 4 weeks). It is postulated that cardiac injury may be linked to symptoms that persist following resolution of acute infection, as part of this syndrome. The Canadian Cardiovascular Society Rapid Response Team has generated this document to provide guidance to health care providers on the optimal management of patients with suspected cardiac complications of Long COVID-19.

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