Key result
Female sex, older age, low income, and comorbidities link to lower cardiac rehabilitation participation.
Why the study?
Despite proven benefits, cardiac rehabilitation participation rates remain low, prompting the need to identify barriers to participation among patients with cardiovascular disease.
What factors influence active participation in cardiac rehabilitation among patients who received coronary revascularization?
Cohort
Yes
What factors influence active participation in cardiac rehabilitation among patients who received coronary revascularization?
Cardiac rehabilitation participation is significantly hindered by female gender, older age, rural residence, low income, and medical comorbidities, highlighting the need for targeted strategies to engage high-risk patients.
Disparities in cardiac rehabilitation participation should not yet change referral practices; leaves open whether targeted interventions improve equity in post-revascularization care.
Background Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a well‐established program for improving exercise capacity, quality of life, and long‐term outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite its proven benefits, CR participation rates remain low in many countries. Identifying the barriers to CR participation is crucial for developing effective strategies to enhance patient engagement in these programs. Objective To analyze the barriers to CR participation among patients with CVD. To analyze the barriers to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participation among patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Design A nationwide cohort study using data from the Korean National Health Insurance Database. Setting South Korea. Patients In 2019, patients who received coronary revascularization at hospitals operating CR program. Interventions Comparison of the demographic, socioeconomic, and medical status between patients who actively participated in CR and those who did not. Main Outcome Measures The analysis considered potential influencing factors such as gender, age, residence area, income level, disability status, medical comorbidities, accompanying disease, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity levels, and obesity. Results The CR participation rate was low among women, older adults, rural residents, and low‐income families. In addition, the participation rate was low when there was a disability or medical comorbidity, such as hypertension, diabetes, and musculoskeletal disorders. CR participation rate was also low in patients who experienced CVD recurrence within 10 years. Conclusion CR participation is affected by medical comorbidities, in addition to gender, age, income level, and residence. In particular, participation rate is lower in patients with a high risk of CVD recurrence due to medical comorbidities.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Kim et al. (2025) conducted a cohort in Cardiovascular disease. Active participation in cardiac rehabilitation vs. Non-participation was evaluated on Factors influencing cardiac rehabilitation participation. Cardiac rehabilitation participation was lower among women, older adults, rural residents, low-income families, and patients with medical comorbidities or CVD recurrence within 10 years.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: