Profile of women choosing mixed-sex women-only, and home-based cardiac rehabilitation models and impact on utilization

This study compared characteristics and program utilization in women electing to participate in mixed-sex, women-only, or home-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR). In this retrospective cohort study, electronic records of CR participants in Toronto who were offered the choice of program model between January 2017-February 2020 were analyzed. There were 727 women (74.7% mixed, 22.0% women-only, 3.3% home-based) who initiated CR. There were significantly more women who were not working in women-only than mixed-sex (80.4% vs 64.1%; P=.009). Session adherence was significantly greater with mixed-sex (58.8±28.9% sessions attended/25) than women-only (54.3±26.3% sessions attended/25; P=.046); program completion was significantly lower with home-based (33.3%) than either supervised model (59.7%; P=.035). Participation in women-only CR may be less accessible. Further research is needed to investigate offering remote women-focused sessions or peer support.