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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev. 2019 May;39(3):181–186. doi: 10.1097/HCR.0000000000000366

Table 5.

Smoking and Cardiac Rehabilitation

Do you think your smoking behavior influenced your decision to attend/not attend cardiac rehab? (n = 62)
Yes 3 (5%)
It’s related to the fact that I have to do this and CR makes me feel better. I feel better because of the exercise and I don’t feel better when I smoke. CR makes me more likely to stay away from smoking.
By attending rehab I have the help I need if the sensation to smoke presents itself. Plus the patches have helped me too.
Yes, I quit smoking so I attended CR 5 (8%)
I quit smoking because of my heart attack but if I didn’t quit I would have been less likely to go to CR.
Due to quitting smoking, I was really interested on seeing how different my breathing would be. And upon doing rehabilitation, I was quite happy with the outcome…
I quit before I went
Yes, I attended CR (or wanted to) so I could receive help to quit smoking 5 (8%)
I feel if I exercise regularly that I won’t have the urge to smoke. I will not live that life again.
Attended CR to gain strength and to help quit forever.
Yes, it had a lot to do with it. If I attended I bet I would have stopped smoking because I was told they would help me.
No, there was not influence at all 24 (39%)
No, I would have gone even if I was still smoking.
Didn’t influence one way or the other. I knew it was the right thing to do.
No, I attended for another reason 8 (13%)
No, my doctor told me I had to go to get strong again so I’m going.
No, I want to go so I can live a few more years.
No, I needed to go so my heart could get stronger.
No, I could not attend for another reason 7 (11%)
It’s more my work schedule that effects my ability to go. I’m really disappointed in my smoking – maybe CR would help because they’ll be bugging me 3 days week.
It wasn’t a factor. I couldn’t go to CR either way.
Other 8 (13%)
I don’t know if it did but I think I probably would have been less likely to go had I not quit smoking.
I need to quit. If I don’t then my health will decline. Either way I want to eventually go to CR. Maybe it will help me.
No response 2 (3%)

CR= cardiac rehabilitation