By Serena Agusto-Cox | News & Views

For five decades, AACVPR has been the heartbeat of progress in cardiopulmonary care — connecting professionals, shaping standards, and improving lives. At the 40th Annual Meeting, members celebrated that legacy with an energetic look at how far the organization has come and its bold vision for what’s next.

With contributions from AACVPR leaders from different chapters of the association’s story, Immediate Past President David Prince, MD, led meeting-goers through a creative retrospective of the decades. Reflections on association milestones and innovations in cardiopulmonary care were delightfully woven in with humorous pop culture references to take the audience back in time through AACVPR’s journey. From its early years as a grassroots initiative to national legislative victories, AACVPR’s unwavering drive to elevate professional practice and patient outcomes while leading the charge for legislative and scientific advancement is the common thread woven throughout the story.

The 1980s: Building Bridges in a Digital Dawn

With the birth of the internet and personal computers in the 1980s, global connection became easier. As the field of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation grew, many professionals were looking to collaborate, share research, and create a unified voice for the value of CR and PR.

AACVPR Past President Anne Gavic, MPA, RCEP, MAACVPR, recalled the launch of the Journal of Cardiac Rehabilitation in 1981 as a pivotal moment. “Under the leadership of Michael Pollock and Victor Froelicher, the journal created a platform to consolidate and disseminate the growing literature on cardiac rehabilitation,” she shared from the 40^th AACVPR Annual Meeting stage. By 1985, with pulmonary rehabilitation professionals increasingly contributing to the field’s body of knowledge, the publication evolved into the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation to reflect the growing scope of the profession.

Before AACVPR’s first official meeting in Texas that same year, smaller state organizations were already laying the groundwork. Regional societies provided “early opportunities to network and collaborate,” Gavic said, adding, “it quickly became clear that the specialty needed a national voice.” The momentum culminated in the formation of AACVPR in 1985, led by founding President Phil Wilson. “Phil’s leadership helped shape our early identity and left a lasting legacy,” Gavic said.

To inform and inspire members, News & Views launched in 1986 as AACVPR’s official newsletter, a channel for sharing research, professional development resources, and success stories from across the country. As Gavic recalled, “The 1980s were truly about laying the foundation through research, grassroots organizing, and the creation of a national home for the profession.”

The 1990s: Professional Growth and Credibility

By the 1990s, AACVPR had found its rhythm. New technologies and treatments were transforming cardiopulmonary care and the organization channeled that energy into growth, structure, and scientific credibility. Members joined the community to define standards that matched their expanding expertise.

In her remarks to the 40^th AACVPR Annual Meeting attendees, Past President Pat Comoss, RN, BS, MAACVPR, said, “In 1991, AACVPR published the first edition of the Guidelines for Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs.” Now on its sixth edition, she added, “this essential resource delivers evidence-based strategies, tools, and standards to help professionals design, implement, and elevate high-quality, cost-effective programs.” This publication introduced AACVPR as a national authority on best practices in both cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation.

In 1992, the Agency for Health Care Policy & Research awarded AACVPR a federal grant to develop research-based practice guidelines for cardiac rehabilitation. “I had the privilege of contributing to this project alongside Dr. L. Kent Smith, and together with many dedicated colleagues, we established a foundation of credibility and scientific rigor for our specialty,” said Comoss. The result of that effort was Core Competencies for Cardiac Rehabilitation Professionals and Clinical Competency Guidelines for Pulmonary Rehabilitation, published in 1994.

By 1998, AACVPR introduced Program Certification, a seal of excellence that verifies alignment with those established standards. Today, more than 1,900 programs across the country proudly hold AACVPR program certification.

The 2000s: Turning Advocacy Into Action

At the start of the new millennium, AACVPR’s voice grew louder — on Capitol Hill and across the health care industry. With credibility firmly established through decades of clinical excellence, the organization shifted from defining standards to shaping policy.

Past President Murray Low, EdD, MAACVPR, FACSM, recalled that collaboration was a hallmark of AACVPR’s work in the 2000s. In partnership with the American Heart Association (AHA), the American College of Cardiology (ACC), and other professional societies, AACVPR advocated for standardized cardiac rehabilitation practice nationwide. “During this time, the Program Certification and Outcomes Committees worked together to link certification more closely to evidence-based practice and measurable performance improvement,” he said.

In 2005, AACVPR members headed to Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers, an event that later became the annual Day on the Hill. They shared research, patient stories, and clinical data that demonstrated the life-changing value of rehabilitation programs.

Their efforts paid off in a historic win. On July 15, 2008, Congress passed the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act,” formally establishing Medicare coverage for both cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services. A national framework for eligibility, scope, and payment for cardiopulmonary rehabilitation was established. “That moment changed everything,” Low said. “The 2000s transformed AACVPR from a professional organization into a national powerhouse. It was the decade that turned advocacy into legislation and reshaped the entire field of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation forever.”

The 2010s: Data Becomes Our Backbone

It was  a faster, more connected world, and AACVPR matched its pace with a new focus on data. As health care shifted toward accountability and measurable outcomes, the organization set out to prove, through data, what professionals already witnessed every day: cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation saves lives.

Past President Kate Traynor, RN, MS, MAACVPR, led much of that transformation. In 2012 and 2013, respectively, AACVPR launched the Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation Registry and the Pulmonary Registry, giving programs across the country a consistent way to track performance and patient outcomes. “These registries not only empowered individual programs to improve care quality,” Traynor said, “but they began building the national evidence base for the effectiveness of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation.”

That data quickly became the backbone of AACVPR’s certification and quality initiatives. The Quality of Care Committee introduced performance measures centered on meaningful patient outcomes. “These measures didn’t just provide insight into effectiveness, they highlighted opportunities for quality improvement,” Traynor explained.

AACVPR created opportunity to strengthen personal professional identity with two new credentials: the Certified Cardiac Rehabilitation Professional and the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Certificate (a collaboration with the American Association for Respiratory Care). “Both of these specialty distinction opportunities strengthened the professional identity of those working in our field and helped raise the bar for practice,” Traynor said.

Expanded coverage under the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act” and new rulings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) widened access to rehabilitation services. In 2017, the CMS approved coverage for supervised exercise training for individuals with symptomatic peripheral artery disease, and AACVPR collaborated with the Vascular Disease Foundation to create the PAD Exercise Training Toolkit, helping clinicians deliver safe, effective programs.

In 2011, the CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Million Hearts® initiative to prevent heart attacks and strokes nationwide. Led by Dr. Janet Wright, MD, FACC, and the CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention team, the goal was to made cardiac rehabilitation a central strategy for reducing cardiovascular events, aiming for 70% participation among eligible patients.

In 2018, the Million Hearts® Cardiac Rehabilitation Change Package debuted as a practical guide filled with process improvements and tools that help programs expand their reach and impact. As Traynor explained, “It has since become a go-to playbook for programs seeking to expand their reach and impact.”

The knowledge and infrastructure drawn from Million Hearts reinforced AACVPR’s own quality initiatives, ultimately paving the way for the second edition of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Change Package and future advances in evidence-based care.

The 2020s and Beyond: Leading Through Change

When the world paused, AACVPR never did. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person care, but it also propelled innovation and connection like never before. At the 40^th AACVPR Annual Meeting, Past President Ana Mola, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, MAACVPR, recalled the beginning of the pandemic as a test of creativity and leadership. “We accelerated education on innovative delivery models, established a Covid Resource center, and convened a task force to share best professional practices and real-time solutions,” she recalled.

A necessary shift became a permanent transformation. The organization reimagined professional education beyond its annual meeting, launching virtual programs, such as the Billing and Coding Workshops, the Exercise Prescription Masterclass, and the ECG Webinar Series. These virtual offerings helped professionals stay connected, compliant, and confident in delivering high-quality care .

Partnering with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, AACVPR established the Data Analytics Center to turn patient data from the registries into actionable research. The partnership has produced four published papers , with more studies under way. Mola shared, “the registries and the Data Analytics Center represent a new era of data-driven practice and research, ensuring that AACVPR continues to shape the future of our field.”

In 2024, AACVPR launched the Leadership Development Academy to cultivate the skills and confidence of emerging cardiopulmonary rehabilitation professionals. The inaugural cohort of 50 graduates represents the organization’s future.

 “The trials of this decade’s beginning remind us of our collective strength,” Mola said. “Let us lean into resilience, stay laser-focused on elevating care, education, and scientific progress, and create pathways for professional growth that will shape the next generation of AACVPR leaders.”

As AACVPR marks four decades of growth and leadership, it stands as a beacon of excellence in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, driven by passionate professionals, rigorous standards, and powerful advocacy. From pioneering certification and advancing data-driven care to influencing landmark legislation and embracing innovation, AACVPR has continually raised the bar for improving patient outcomes.

Looking forward, the organization’s commitment to expanding access, fostering leadership, and leveraging emerging technologies ensures it will remain at the forefront of transforming cardiopulmonary rehabilitation care to empower patients and providers well into the future.