Table 7.

Subthemes and descriptive examples of theme 6—perceived barriers to travel

Subtheme	Representative quotations
Psychological barriers to travel	“I was anxious beforehand about how I would go, given that I wasn’t as strong as I used to be.” (P3)
Difficulty obtaining travel health insurance	“I would insure myself. Yeah. And now they won’t give, very few people will give you when you are over 80…They don’t want to give it to you at that age. You are too big a risk.” (P1)
Anxiety as lone travelers	“It’s a little bit inhibiting in the sense that erm, you know, if I was to go on my own to….I’ll be a little bit nervous. A little bit nervous. You know you are on your own. You didn’t feel well, not just your heart, but anything, you know. If you are on your own, what would you do, yeah.” (P4)
Physical limitations after cardiovascular event overseas	“It’s a lot different actually…it’s still not the same, it’s still slow no matter what. I mean there was a time, what I do is I be walking in front of the wife, and now I am walking behind.” (P11)
Altered airport experiences	“The security checks, yeah. So obviously, that was a big change in that (before) I just went through security like everybody else. But now, now I have to say hang on.” (P5)
Avoidance of long-haul flights	“I would worry about a long flight now. I would, I hesitate about that because of the condition. Yeah. A four-hour flight would be enough.” (P1)
Fear of medical event abroad	“There’s always the nagging fear in the background, oh I might not be well during the travel. I might get an atrial fibrillation or event.” (P3)