Importance of Baseline Functional and Socioeconomic Factors for Participation in Cardiac Rehabilitation⋆
Section snippets
Methods
Study population: Potential candidates for rehabilitation after CABG were identified from daily listings of the cardiac surgical inpatient census by Center for Living (CFL) staff members. For logistic reasons, only patients living within a 60-mile radius of Duke Medical Center were actively recruited to participate in rehabilitation. Persons living beyond this distance were encouraged to enroll in a rehabilitation program closer to home and were given appropriate referral information, but were
Results
Rehabilitation participants and nonparticipants were similar in age and race, but nonparticipants were more often women (26% vs 12%, p = 0.02) (Table I). Diabetes tended to be more prevalent in the nonparticipants (p = 0.09). Participants were more likely to be employed at the time of their bypass surgery (p = 0.02) (Table I). They were also more educated (p = 0.001) and had a significantly higher income than nonparticipants (p = 0.001).
On 2 separate scales (the Duke Activity Status Index and the Health
Discussion
Cardiac rehabilitation programs are often recommended for patients who have had a myocardial infarction, coronary bypass surgery, or coronary angioplasty, and typically include a central component of exercise training along with education about risk factors, dietary counseling, and vocational rehabilitation.1 Although the cost-effectiveness of these programs remains controversial, there is evidence that they improve exercise capacity and psychological well-being, and some evidence that they
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This study was supported by Research Grants HL-36587, HL-45702, HL-57302, and HL-17670 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland; Research Grants HS-05636 and HS-06503 from the Agency for Health Core Policy and Research, Rockville, Maryland; and a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, New jersey.