McPhillips, R., Salmon, P., Wells, A., & Fisher, P. (2019). Cardiac rehabilitation patients’ accounts of their emotional distress and psychological needs: a qualitative study. Journal of the American Heart Association, 8(11), e011117.
Background: Psychological distress is prevalent among patients with cardiovascular disease and is linked to increased risk of future cardiac events. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is widely recommended for treating psychological distress but has been of limited benefit. This study aims to understand how distressed cardiac patients describe their emotional needs and the response of CR.