Couples' Experiences With Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors After Cardiac Rehabilitation

摘要

Purpose: Many cardiac patients discontinue heart-healthy eating and physical activity (PA) behaviors in the months following cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Involving the spouse in CR with the patient may be 1 strategy to increase the maintenance of these behaviors after CR. Assisting patients and spouses with the maintenance of healthy eating and PA behavior following CR begins with a better understanding of the couple-focused factors, impacting their experiences with these behaviors. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine couple-focused facilitators and barriers to maintaining changes in healthy eating and PA behavior from the perspectives of both cardiac patients and their spouses following phase 2 CR.