title: End-of-life care preferences of patients enrolled in cardiovascular rehabilitation programs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study assessed the interests of ambulatory cardiac patients in advance planning and their willingness to participate in rehabilitation program-based end-of-life education.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational survey study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourteen outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programs in 11 states.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred fifteen subjects enrolled in cardiac rehabilitation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A questionnaire determined patient preferences for advance planning, completion of advance directives, completion of patient-physician discussions on end-of-life care, and effects of health status on patient acceptance of life-sustaining interventions. Seventy-two percent of patients wanted to direct their own end-of-life care, 86% desired more information on advance directives, 62% wanted to learn about life-sustaining care, and 96% were receptive to advance-planning discussions with their physicians. Seventy-two percent of patients had considered that they might require life-sustaining care in the future; acceptability of resuscitative care depended on health status and probability of survival. However, only 15% had discussed advance planning with their physicians, and 10% were confident that their physicians understood their end-of-life wishes. Physicians and cardiovascular rehabilitation programs were considered desirable sources of information on advance planning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cardiac patients enrolled in rehabilitation programs want to learn more about end-of-life care and need more opportunities to discuss advance planning with their physicians. Patients consider cardiovascular rehabilitation programs to be acceptable sites for advance planning education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425, USA. heffnerj@musc.edu
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Heffner
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barbieri
mesh_terms: D016223:Advance Directives / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D000368:Aged; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D016224:Living Wills / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D014481:United States