Modifiable risk factors and motivation for lifestyle change of CVD patients starting cardiac rehabilitation: The BENEFIT study

Modifiable risk factors were assessed with a survey and interviews by healthcare professionals during CR intake. Results: Most patients exhibited an elevated risk in 3–4 domains. Elevated risks were most prominent in domains of (1) waist circumference and BMI (2) physical exercise (3) healthy foods intake and (4) sleep duration.

Most patients chose to focus on increasing physical exercise, but about 20 % also wanted to focus on a healthy diet and/or decrease stress levels. Generally, motivation, self-efficacy and social support to reach new lifestyle goals were high. However, patients with an unfavorable risk profile had lower motivation and self-efficacy to work on lifestyle changes, while patients with lower social support had a higher chance to quit the program prematurely.

Conclusions: Our results underscore the need to begin CR with a comprehensive lifestyle assessment and highlight the importance of offering lifestyle interventions tailored to patients’ specific modifiable risk factors and lifestylesupporting needs, targeting multiple lifestyle domains. Expanding the current scope of CR programs to address diverse patient needs and strengthening support may enhance motivation and adherence and lead to significant long-term benefits for cardiovascular health.

Clinical trial registration number: Netherlands Trial Register; registration number NL8443