title: Rehabilitation status three months after first-time myocardial infarction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the rehabilitation status three months after first-time myocardial infarction (MI) to identify focus areas for long-term cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in general practice. Design. Population-based cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with first-time MI in 2009 from the Central Denmark Region. Data were obtained from patient questionnaires and from registers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1288 eligible patients, 908 (70.5%) responded. The mean (SD) age was 67.1 (11.7) years and 626 (68.9%) were men. Overall, 287 (31.6%) of the patients lived alone and 398 (45.4%) had less than 10 years of education. Upwards of half (58.5%) of the patients stated that they had participated in hospital-based rehabilitation shortly after admission. A total of 262 (29.2%) were identified with anxiety or depressive disorder or both, according to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Of these, 78 (29.8%) reported that they had participated in psychosocial support, and 55 (21.0%) used antidepressants. One in five patients smoked three months after MI although nearly half of the smokers had stopped after the MI. Regarding cardioprotective drugs, 714 (78.6%) used aspirin, 694 (76.4%) clopidogrel, 756 (83.3%) statins, and 735 (81.0%) beta-blockers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After three months, there is a considerable potential for further rehabilitation of MI patients. In particular, the long-term CR should focus on mental health, smoking cessation, and cardioprotective drugs.
authors: Section for General Medical Practice, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Denmark. kkl@alm.au.dk
authors: Karen Kjær
authors: KK
authors: Larsen
authors: Mogens
authors: M
authors: Vestergaard
authors: Jens
authors: J
authors: Søndergaard
authors: Bo
authors: B
authors: Christensen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D002316:Cardiotonic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010358:Patient Participation; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002316:Cardiotonic Agents