Evaluation of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Exercise Risk Stratification Classification Tool Without Exercise Testing.

Purpose: The American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) recommends that patients starting cardiac rehabilitation (CR) undergo stratification to identify risk for exercise-related adverse events (AE), but this tool has not been recently evaluated.

Methods: Among patients who enrolled in CR in 2016, we used the AACVPR risk stratification tool to evaluate the risk for AE and clinical events (CE). We defined AE as signs or symptoms that precluded or interrupted exercise during CR, and CE as events requiring an urgent evaluation outside of CR exercise sessions.

Cardiac rehabilitation in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy: Predictors of utilization and effects of exercise training.

Background: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM) patients may benefit from cardiac rehabilitation (CR).

Objectives: The purpose to this study is to examine utilization of CR in TCM.

Methods: We conducted a review of hospitalized TCM patients at Baystate Medical Center between 2010 and 2017.

Development of a Simple Clinical Tool for Predicting Early Dropout in Cardiac Rehabilitation: A SINGLE-CENTER RISK MODEL.

Background: Nonadherence to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is common despite the benefits of completing a full program. Adherence might be improved if patients at risk of early dropout were identified and received an intervention.

Methods: Using records from patients who completed ≥1 CR session in 2016 (derivation cohort), we employed multivariable logistic regression to identify independent patient-level characteristics associated with attending <12 sessions of CR in a predictive model.

Association Between Patient Cost Sharing and Cardiac Rehabilitation Adherence.

Objective: To determine the association between cost sharing and adherence to cardiac rehabilitation (CR).

Patients And Methods: We collected detailed cost-sharing information for patients enrolled in CR at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, including the presence (or absence) and amounts of co-pays and deductibles. We evaluated the association between cost sharing and the total number of CR sessions attended as well as the influence of household income on CR attendance.

Smoking cessation after hospitalization for myocardial infarction or cardiac surgery: Assessing patient interest, confidence, and physician prescribing practices.

Background: Prioritizing and managing multiple behavior changes following a cardiac hospitalization can be difficult, particularly among smokers who must also overcome a serious addiction.

Hypothesis: Hospitalized smokers will report a strong interest in smoking cessation (SC) but will receive little assistance from their physicians.

Methods: We asked current smokers hospitalized for an acute cardiac event to prioritize their health behavior priorities, and inquired about their attitude toward SC therapies.

A Motivational Telephone Intervention to Reduce Early Dropouts in Cardiac Rehabilitation: A FEASIBILITY PILOT STUDY.

Purpose: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) improves outcomes, yet early dropout is common. The purpose of the study was to determine whether a motivational telephone intervention among patients at risk for nonadherence would reduce early dropouts.

Methods: We performed a randomized double-blind pilot study with the intervention group receiving the telephone intervention 1 to 3 d after outpatient CR orientation.

Patient Perception of How Smoking Status Influences Cardiac Rehabilitation Attendance After an Acute Cardiac Hospitalization.

Purpose: Patients hospitalized with a cardiac condition are less likely to attend cardiac rehabilitation (CR) if they are smokers despite the benefits of doing so. The present study sought to investigate how, if at all, a patient's decision to attend CR was influenced by his or her tobacco use post-discharge.

Methods: We surveyed smokers during their hospitalization for a cardiac condition.