Women's rehabilitation and recovery

It is clear that as a chronic illness, heart disease can create multiple stressors for women, including limitations on the performance of daily activities, difficulties managing symptoms and treatment, changes in role performance, lack of social support, and a reduced quality of life. Although available studies provide valuable information regarding aspects of the recovery process, they represent a fragmented body of knowledge. The acknowledgment of unique aspects of rehabilitation and recovery in women, as perceived by the women being treated, may enable the development of relevant and effective clinical interventions that facilitate physiologic and psychosocial recovery.