Cardiac rehabilitation in women, challenges and opportunities

Mariem A Sawan; Avery E Calhoun; Yetunde A Fatade; Nanette K Wenger

doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2022.01.007

Cardiac rehabilitation in women, challenges and opportunities

Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2022 Jan-Feb:70:111-118. doi: 10.1016/j.pcad.2022.01.007. Epub 2022 Feb 10.

Authors

Mariem A Sawan¹, Avery E Calhoun², Yetunde A Fatade², Nanette K Wenger³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Internal Medicine, Emory University Atlanta, GA, USA.
³ Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.

PMID: 35150655
DOI: 10.1016/j.pcad.2022.01.007

Abstract

Cardiac rehabilitation(CR) has known proven benefits in reducing mortality related to cardiovascular disease (CVD), improving quality of life (QoL), and preventing CVD-related readmissions. Despite these known benefits, CR remains underutilized among women relative to men. Disparities exist at the level of referral, enrollment, and program completion. Much is left to be understood regarding the utility of CR in female-predominant CVD such as postpartum cardiomyopathy and Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection. This review identifies the benefits of CR for specific populations of women and elucidates on the barriers to CR. We also describe current recommendations to overcome barriers to CR in women.

Keywords: Cardiac rehabilitation; Exercise; Gender; Health care disparities; Women.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Review

MeSH terms

Cardiac Rehabilitation*
Cardiovascular Diseases* / diagnosis
Cardiovascular Diseases* / prevention & control
Female
Humans
Male
Quality of Life
Referral and Consultation

Grants and funding

R38 AI140299/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States