Table 2. Clinical and demographic characteristics of the patient-partner dyads at baseline.
| Control | Intervention | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | Patient (n = 84) | Partner (n = 84) | Patient (n = 71) | Partner (n = 71) |
| Age, mean±SD | 72.9±10.1 | 69.5±10.5 | 69.4±13.6 | 67.1±12.1 |
| Female, n (%) | 16 (19,1) | 68 (80,9) | 22 (30,9) | 49 (69,1) |
| Medical history, n (%) | ||||
| Myocardial infarction | 38 (43) | 13 (15) | 23 (33) | 8 (11) |
| Hypertension | 26 (31) | 25 (30) | 27 (38) | 25 (35) |
| Diabetes | 10 (12) | 4 (5) | 8 (11) | 7 (10) |
| Stroke | 8 (10) | 4 (5) | 9 (13) | 3 (4) |
| Lung disease a | 7 (8) | 10 (12) | 3 (42) | 1 (1) |
| Pacemaker | 9 (11) | 1 (1) | 11 (15) | 1 (1) |
| Cardiac resynchronization therapy | 15 (18) | 1 (1) | 8 (11) | 0 (0) |
| Implantable cardioverter defibrillator | 2 (2) | 0 (0) | 3 (4) | 0 (0) |
| Percutaneous coronary intervention | 15 (18) | 3 (4) | 10 (14) | 3 (4) |
| Coronary artery bypass surgery | 17 (20) | 3 (4) | 12 (17) | 2 (3) |
| NYHA class, n (%) | ||||
| II | 25 (30) | 24 (35) | ||
| III | 43 (51) | 40 (55) | ||
| IV | 16 (19) | 7 (10) | ||
| Medication, n (%) | ||||
| ACEI/ARB | 76 (90) | 65 (92) | ||
| Beta-blockers | 74 (88) | 62 (87) | ||
| Diuretics | 63 (75) | 56 (79) | ||
| Education, n (%) | ||||
| Elementary school | 56 (65) | 48 (58) | 40 (59) | 41 (59) |
| High school | 21 (26) | 22 (28) | 22 (32) | 26 (37) |
| University | 7 (9) | 14 (14) | 9 (9) | 4 (4) |
| Years at school, mean±SD | 9.8±6.1 | 9.9±3.5 | 9.4±4.7 | 9.7±3.2 |
| Employment, n (%) | ||||
| Full time | 10 (11) | 18 (20) | 10 (14) | 22 (33) |
| Disability pension/sick leave | 10 (11) | 4 (5) | 13 (17) | 2 (3) |
| Homemaker | 3 (2) | 0 (0) | 1 (1) | 2 (3) |
| Pension | 61 (76) | 62 (75) | 47 (68) | 45 (61) |
| Lifestyle, n (%) | ||||
| Smoking/ Ex-smoking | 47 (60) | 39 (49) | 36 (54) | 30 (42) |
| Alcohol Never drink alcohol | 20 (26) | 18 (23) | 16 (24) | 15 (23) |
| ≤7 glass/week | 54 (71) | 57 (74) | 45 (67) | 46 (69) |
| > 7 glass/week | 3 (3) | 2 (3) | 6 (9) | 5 (8) |
| Unknown | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
| Exercise < 30 min/week | 27 (36) | 6 (8) | 13 (20) | 4 (6) |
| 30 min-3 hours/week | 25 (31) | 28 (36) | 36 (42) | 29 (43) |
| > 3 hours/week | 26 (33) | 43 (56) | 19 (28) | 35 (51) |
| Unknown | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| BMI, mean±SD | 26.8±4.1 | 26.8±4.1 | 26.6±4.5 | 26.6±4.9 |
a Lung disease was significantly (p <0.05) more common in the partner control group compared to the partner intervention group.