Physical Activity After Heart Surgery: Associations With Psychosocial and Sleep Factors

Heart surgery is an effective intervention for managing heart disease, the leading cause of death globally. After surgery, physical activity is key to improving patients' quality of life and decreasing mortality, but patients are frequently physically inactive after heart surgery.

This cross-sectional pilot study aimed to examine how psychosocial and sleep factors influenced physical activity in patients after heart surgery. The mediating role of sleep factors between psychosocial factors and physical activity was also examined.

Thirty-three patients who had undergone heart surgery were recruited. Psychosocial and sleep factors and physical activity were measured using an online survey and a wrist-worn ActiGraph for 7 days and nights.

The participants had heart surgery an average of about 7 years previously. They exceeded the recommended 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity for Americans; however, 64% of them showed poor sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index >5). Higher anxiety and depressive symptoms, lower self-efficacy, and greater sleep disturbances were associated with lower physical activity. Moreover, self-efficacy, sleep duration, sleep disturbance, sleep efficiency, and wake after sleep onset were predictors for physical activity. No mediating role of sleep factors was observed between psychosocial factors and physical activity.

Psychosocial and sleep factors should be considered when developing and implementing physical activity strategies for patients after heart surgery. Researchers should examine the relationships among the study variables with larger samples of postsurgical cardiac patients during different periods after heart surgery.