Using survival analysis to explore female cardiac rehabilitation program adherence.

Heart disease continues to be the predominant cause of death in the United States. Traditionally, coronary heart disease (CHD) has been considered to be a male disorder, but it is also a significant cause of death and disability among older women. Cardiac rehabilitation offers valuable tertiary prevention after myocardial infarction and other cardiac events and has proven to decrease CHD death risk. This study used survival analysis as a means to incorporate time as a variable in the analysis of cardiac rehabilitation program adherence with a sample of female CHD patients. Implications for the management of female cardiac rehabilitation are discussed.