Rationale:
No comprehensive gender-specific data are available on the percentage of participants who are still not at recommended cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor goal levels on completion of a contemporary phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program and, therefore, in need of additional intervention.
Objectives:
In this multi-center study, we compared the percentage of participants not at goal for select risk factors in male versus female patients on exit from a phase 2 CR program.
Methodology:
Subjects were 4,873 consecutive male (Group A; n = 3,511; age = 66 +/- 11 years) and female (Group B; n = 1,362; age = 68 +/- 11 years) patients who enrolled in a phase 2 CR program at 30 centers in the United States after May 16, 2001 (i.e., the publication date of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III Guidelines) and subsequently completed an exit evaluation on program completion. Risk factors were evaluated using standardized procedures.
Results:
Results are shown in the table.
Conclusion:
These data indicate that multiple CVD risk factors are often inadequately controlled on exit from a contemporary phase 2 CR program. Our findings further indicate that gender-specific differences exist for multiple risk factors. These data emphasize the urgent need for ongoing risk reduction interventions in post-phase 2 CR program participants.