Women's Cardiovascular Health and Cardiac Rehabilitation: a Priority-setting Partnership

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular health research
• Public health initiatives
• Patient-centered care

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of preventable death in Canadian women.
• Women access cardiac rehabilitation (CR) at lower rates than men.
• Patient and clinician input is crucial for improving CR for women.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engage people with lived and living experience (PWLLE) of CVD and clinicians in Canada.
• To identify and prioritize research questions for women's CR.
• To inform future research and improve CR accessibility and effectiveness for women.

Main Methods:

• A James Lind Alliance priority setting partnership was employed.
• Two surveys collected questions from PWLLE and clinicians regarding women's CR.
• An in-person workshop prioritized research questions through consensus.

Main Results:

• Initial survey yielded 1347 questions; 715 were summarized into 52 questions.
• Second survey resulted in a shortlist of 25 questions.
• Top 10 priorities identified include individualization, women-only CR, follow-up, referral criteria, education, optimization, nutritional counseling, rural access, and exercise safety/progression.

Conclusions:

• Consensus between PWLLE and clinicians established key research priorities for women's CR.
• These priorities provide a framework for future research.
• Addressing these priorities can enhance cardiovascular health and reduce future events in women.