Association of Perceived Health Competence With Cardiac Rehabilitation Initiation

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is underutilized despite its benefits for cardiovascular risk management.
• Psychological factors, such as perceived health competence, may influence patient engagement in CR programs.
• Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients are a key population for CR interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between perceived health competence and the initiation of outpatient CR.
• To analyze this relationship in patients hospitalized for ACS, controlling for various demographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Vanderbilt Inpatient Cohort Study (VICS) of ACS patients hospitalized between 2011 and 2015.
• Assessed perceived health competence using the Perceived Health Competence Scale (PHCS-2).
• Employed multiple logistic regression to determine the odds of CR initiation based on PHCS-2 scores and covariates.

Main Results:

• Out of 1809 ACS patients, 16% initiated CR.
• Higher perceived health competence (PHCS-2 score) was significantly associated with increased odds of CR initiation (OR = 1.15 per point increase, P = .001).
• Comorbid heart failure and current smoking were associated with lower odds of CR initiation.

Conclusions:

• Perceived health competence is a significant predictor of CR initiation among ACS patients.
• Interventions aimed at enhancing patients' perceived health competence could be a valuable strategy to improve CR uptake.
• Further research into psychological determinants of CR participation is warranted.