Recovery from acute myocardial infarction in women.

This paper is a review of the literature on recovery from acute myocardial infarction in women. The topic has been subdivided into three areas for presentation: cardiac rehabilitation, return to work and sexual activity. The exploration of the literature revealed the paucity of research on women, but some comparisons could be made between men and women. Compared to men, women appear to utilize cardiac rehabilitation programs less frequently than men and have higher dropout rates, they return to work less frequently and after a longer period of time and resume sexual activity after a longer period of time reporting more symptoms during and after the activity. Investigation of the literature showed that the recovery period for women is incompletely explored and that there is a critical need for research.