Demographic and Clinical Determinants of Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity During Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation

In Brief PURPOSE: Little is known concerning moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels in patients attending home-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs and whether demographic/clinical characteristics moderate these levels. METHODS: Patients (N = 280, 77 female) who were referred to home-based CR, mainly because of myocardial infarction (34%), coronary artery bypass graft (17%), and percutaneous coronary intervention/ stent/atherectomy (32%), completed a questionnaire assessing demographic and clinical characteristics as well as MVPA, measured at the beginning and end of a 3-month home-based CR program. Charts were reviewed for blood work, blood pressure, stress tests, and diagnosis. RESULTS: Patients averaged 88.5 minutes per week of MVPA before starting home-based CR, which increased to 191.1 minutes during the program. Multiple regression analyses showed that patients who were male (β = −.11), did not have metabolic syndrome (β = −.14), and were meeting the MVPA guideline before starting home-based CR (β = .25) engaged in significantly more MVPA during home-based CR than their counterparts. Furthermore, the increase in MVPA was significantly larger for males (β = −.20), patients without metabolic syndrome (β = −.13), and patients who did not meet the MVPA guideline at baseline (β = −.29) than their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: The MVPA levels of patients attending home-based CR tend to vary depending on gender, whether or not metabolic syndrome was present, and prior MVPA levels, suggesting the need to potentially target these particular groups in future behavioral interventions aimed at increasing MVPA. Cardiac patients (n = 280) completed a physical activity questionnaire before and after a 3-month-home-based cardiac rehabilitation program. Results showed that physical activity increased from 88.5 minutes per week to 191 minutes following cardiac rehabilitation, which was moderated by gender, metabolic syndrome, and prior moderate to vigorous physical activity.