Inequalities in access to cardiac rehabilitation after an acute coronary syndrome: the EPiHeart cohort

OBJECTIVES: To estimate cardiac rehabilitation (CR) referral and participation rates among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and to identify their determinants, in two Portuguese regions. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Patients consecutively admitted to the cardiology department of two hospitals, one in the district of Porto and one in the north-east region (NER) of Portugal, were enrolled in the EPIHeart cohort and then followed up for 6 months. PARTICIPANTS: Between August 2013 and December 2014, 939 patients were included in the cohort, and 853 were re-evaluated at 6-month follow-up. OUTCOME MEASURES: Referral rate was defined as the proportion of eligible patients who were referred to a CR programme, whereas participation rate was defined as the proportion of eligible patients who completed a CR programme, as was recommended by their physicians. RESULTS: Patients referred were 32.3% and 10.7% of those eligible in Porto and NER, respectively. In both regions, referral to CR decreased with age and with longer travel times to CR centres and increased with education or social class. At follow-up, 128 patients from Porto (26.2% of those eligible and 81.0% of those referred) and 26 from NER (7.1% of those eligible and 66.7% of those referred) reported actually participating in a CR programme. In Porto, the main barriers to participation were the long time until a programme was available and lack of perceived benefit. Patients in NER identified distance to CR and costs as the main barriers. CONCLUSIONS: CR remains clearly underused in Portugal, with major inequalities in access between regions. Achieving equitable and greater use of CR requires a multilevel approach addressing barriers related to healthcare system, providers and patients in order to improve provision, referral and participation.