[No available].

Abstract

In the area of cardiac rehabilitation, little attention has been given to phase III (maintenance phase), as compared to phase II (rehabilitation phase). Studies on the maintenance phase have highlighted the importance of maintaining the newly acquired healthy living habits in order to continue benefitting from them and prevent the recurrence of cardiovascular diseases and mortality. However, these studies have revealed disturbing dropout rates, from 25 to 50%. There is little research on the factors associated with the maintenance of the new healthy living habits after completing phase II of a cardiac rehabilitation program. This study innovates by measuring riskfactors and quality of life, as predictors of exercise maintenance. The goal of this project is to verify which variables are linked to the maintenance of physical activity during phase III. The sample of the study is composed of 529 patients who completed, between 2005 and 2012, phase II of the cardiac rehabilitation program, called Coeur en sant, offered by the Université de Moncton. The main results show that patients at risk of not maintaining their physical activity are younger, male, with only afew risk factors and a lower score on the quality of physical life scale, particularly with respect to the physical role and general health components.