Key result
Younger and middle-aged women in cardiac rehab report isolation and strongly prefer age-tailored programming.
Why the study?
Women with CVD are less likely to participate in cardiac rehabilitation, while CVD prevalence is increasing among younger adults under 65 years.
What are the barriers to and preferences for attending cardiac rehabilitation among women with cardiovascular disease across different age groups?
What are the barriers to and preferences for attending cardiac rehabilitation among women with cardiovascular disease across different age groups?
Cardiac rehabilitation programming for women should be tailored to participants' age and life-stage to reduce feelings of isolation and improve engagement.
Supports age-specific cardiac rehabilitation for women; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective trials before practice change.
Background Women with cardiovascular disease (CVD) are less likely to be referred to, enrol in, and adhere to a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programme. The prevalence of CVD is increasing among younger adults (under 65 years). Material and methods Using a qualitative descriptive design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with women with CVD across Canada to explore barriers to and preferences for attending CR. Using deductive thematic analysis, interview responses were reviewed, coded, and categorised into themes and subcategories according to age group. Results A total of 20 women (30% younger, 45% middle-aged and 25% older-aged) from 5 provinces in Canada participated in this study. Younger women reported feelings of isolation as the youngest in CR groups and peer/support groups, noting the absence of peers with similar experiences. Younger and middle-aged women noted barriers to asking age-relevant questions when surrounded by older participants, and a strong preference emerged for tailoring CR classes to participants of similar ages‥ Conclusions To meet the needs of women recovering from cardiac events, CR programming should be sensitive to participants’ age, life-stage, and associated responsibilities.
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Clark et al. (2026) studied Cardiovascular disease (n=20). Cardiac rehabilitation was evaluated on Patient-reported barriers to and preferences for attending cardiac rehabilitation. Younger and middle-aged women in cardiac rehabilitation reported feelings of isolation and a strong preference for age-tailored programming to address their unique life-stage needs.
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