Both men and women initially described motivation to assume responsibility for self-care and lifestyle changes following myocardial infarction, but women reported greater difficulties in returning to work and maintaining physical activity, which may contribute to increased vulnerability during recovery.
Key Findings
Results
Three major themes emerged from participant interviews about post-myocardial infarction recovery: initiation of one's own resources, engagement with one's own emotions, and follow-up by the health team.
Thematic analysis used both deductive coding based on relevant aspects identified in the scientific literature and inductive coding on emerging codes in interviewees' discourse.
Interviews were conducted between March 2022 and December 2023.
A total of nine participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews.
Purposive theoretical sampling with maximum variation was used to select participants.
Results
Both men and women initially described motivation to assume responsibility for their self-care and lifestyle changes following hospital discharge after myocardial infarction.
Nine participants were interviewed, four of whom were women and five of whom were men.
No participants identified as non-binary.
The participants had an average age of 61 years.
Initial motivation for self-care was a shared experience across genders in this sample.
Results
Women reported greater difficulties in returning to work and maintaining physical activity during the cardiac recovery phase.
This finding was identified through a gender perspective applied to the qualitative interpretive phenomenological study.
These difficulties were described as potentially contributing to increased vulnerability during recovery for women.
The sample included four women participants.
The study used a qualitative design, so findings reflect reported experiences rather than measured outcomes.
Methods
The study design employed a qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach with purposive theoretical sampling and maximum variation.
Semi-structured interviews were the primary data collection method.
Thematic analysis of semantic content was conducted using both deductive and inductive coding.
Deductive coding was based on relevant aspects identified in the scientific literature.
Inductive coding addressed emerging codes in interviewees' discourse.
The sample size of nine participants is consistent with qualitative phenomenological methodology.
Conclusions
The findings were identified as potentially informing nurse-led cardiac rehabilitation programmes that respond to patients' real needs.
The authors highlighted follow-up by the health team as one of three major themes in participant experiences.
Gender-differentiated experiences during recovery were noted as a relevant consideration for programme design.
Women's greater reported vulnerability during recovery was specifically flagged as a consideration for cardiac rehabilitation.
The study framed its contribution as informing practice based on patients' 'real needs.'
What This Means
This research suggests that people recovering from a heart attack (myocardial infarction) after being discharged from hospital face a range of personal, emotional, and healthcare-related challenges. Researchers in Spain conducted in-depth interviews with nine people — four women and five men, with an average age of 61 — between 2022 and 2023. Three main themes emerged from what participants described: finding their own internal resources to cope, dealing with their emotions, and navigating follow-up care from their healthcare team. Importantly, both men and women initially felt motivated to take responsibility for changing their lifestyle and managing their own health after the heart attack.
However, the study also found notable differences between men and women in their recovery experiences. Women reported more difficulty returning to work and keeping up with physical activity compared to men, which the researchers suggest may make women more vulnerable during the recovery period. This gender difference points to the possibility that women may face additional social or practical barriers — such as caregiving responsibilities or workplace challenges — that can interfere with their recovery.
This research suggests that cardiac rehabilitation programmes led by nurses and other healthcare professionals could be improved by taking these gender-based differences into account. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach, rehabilitation support might need to be tailored to address the specific real-world challenges that women face after a heart attack. The findings also highlight the importance of addressing patients' emotional experiences and ensuring adequate healthcare follow-up as part of comprehensive recovery support.
Santos-Ruiz S, Jerez-Molina C, Rodriguez-Romero R, Zamora-Sánchez J, González-De Paz L. (2026). Users' Experiences During Cardiac Recovery Following Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Qualitative Study With a Gender Perspective.. Nursing open. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.70886