Abstract
Purpose: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of mortality in both women and men in the western world and around 250,000-300,000 women dying of a myocardial infarction (MI) each year in the US and Europe. Cardiac rehabilitation reduces the risk of death by approximately 25% in the years following the acute event. An adequate social network and satisfactory social support are reported to reduce the risk of death from CHD, but these studies mainly focus on men. The purpose of this paper, derived from two studies, was to describe and compare, from a longitudinal perspective, the extent of cardiac rehabilitation efforts as well as changes in social support and social network in women who have suffered their first ML
Method: The studies had a descriptive, comparative and longitudinal design. Data were collected from healthcare professionals at 18 acute hospitals, who on two occasions answered a questionnaire dealing with cardiac rehabilitation efforts. From these 18 hospitals, 240 women who had suffered a first MI were consecutively chosen to answer a questionnaire on three occasions on the subject of social support and social network. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data over time.
Results: The findings of these studies revealed that patients with different ischaemic heart disease diagnoses and their next-of-kin were offered different cardiac rehabilitation programmes (CRPs). The CRPs for patients with MI and their next-of-kin consisted of exercise, counselling and education. None of the hospitals offered a CRP that was specifically designed for women. The women experienced that the extent of general support, support from relatives and professional support changed positively over time after an ML The women who participated in a CRP reported less need for professional support over time compared to non participants.
Conclusion: At present there are no specially designed CRPs for women with MI. The women perceived that the extent of social support changed in a positive direction over time after an MI. All women who suffered an MI needed individual professional support during their recovery from the cardiac event. Women who had taken part in a CRP seem to have found tools to manage their life.