To investigate rates and predictors of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) attendance after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABGS) at Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), Victoria, where current best practice referral and recruitment strategies have been adopted.

Prospective cohort study of 184 patients who underwent CABGS at RMH between July 2001 and April 2004. Patients completed questionnaires pre-operatively, and 170 patients (92%) had their CR attendance tracked after referral to CR either at RMH or elsewhere.

Rates of CR attendance among RMH patients referred to CR either at RMH or elsewhere; sociodemographic, medical, cognitive, psychosocial and geographical predictors of CR non-attendance.

The CR attendance rate was 72%. Patients referred to CR at RMH were more than four times more likely to attend than patients referred elsewhere (odds ratio [OR], 4.36; P = 0.024). Travel time significantly predicted CR attendance (OR, 0.86; P = 0.039).

CR attendance rates were found to be higher than previously reported for CABGS patients, suggesting that best practice referral and recruitment procedures minimise common barriers to CR attendance.