Cardiac Rehabilitation Referral: An Information Gap

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR), consisting of exercise and diet modifications, has been proven to promote a healthy lifestyle that can extend life, particularly for survivors of cardiovascular events. Nonetheless, there is a long-standing concern regarding the underutilization of CR in general and especially by women. The American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation recommends all eligible persons be referred and participate in a CR program. However, participation and adherence to CR remain low. There appears to be a CR referral information gap in many instances, and thus focus groups that were conducted investigated four main research questions. First, what did CR mean for these former CR participants? Second, how did participants find out about CR? Third, what kind of referral information was received? Last, what information should prospective cardiac rehabilitation program participants receive? The poster will present the background and motivation for the study, preliminary results, and discussion of these results.