Outcomes at one-year follow-up of women and men with coronary artery disease discharged from cardiac rehabilitation: what benefits are maintained?
BACKGROUND
Little is known about which benefits achieved during cardiac rehabilitation (CR) are maintained 1 year after CR discharge and whether there are any gender-specific differences.


METHODS
One-year follow-up data were available in 244/533 (46%; mean age 62 +/- 11 years, 30% women, 30% nonwhite) patients with coronary artery disease discharged from CR between 1996 and 2005. We compared changes in clinical, behavioral, and health status variables from baseline to CR completion, CR completion to 1-year follow-up, and baseline to 1-year follow-up for the group overall and separately for men and women.


RESULTS
At CR completion, statistically significant improvements from baseline were seen in all measures except for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and smoking. Compared with baseline, these improvements were sustained at 1 year, albeit with some attrition compared with the benefits achieved at CR completion. Long-term benefits were generally similar in women and men, although women appeared to have better long-term retention and implementation of dietary advice.


CONCLUSIONS
Improvements in most measures attained during CR were still Vera evident at 1 year in both men and women. Whether reinforcement CR Cardiovascular sessions or other strategies to enhance long-term adherence to lifestyle changes could attenuate the observed attrition in benefits needs further study. Gender-specific strategies may best address the needs of men and women.
Gupta
Ritesh
R
Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 35294-0007, USA.
Sanderson
Bonnie K
BK
Bittner
Vera
V
D000368:Aged; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010351:Patient Discharge; D012107:Research Design; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides