Exercise compliance in cardiac rehabilitation.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether myocardial infarction (MI) patients comply with their prescribed home exercise programs following hospital discharge, and whether this compliance is related to self-motivation. Thirty-five patients treated for acute MI and discharged with home exercise programs were mailed a Self-Motivation Inventory (SMI) and an Exercise Compliance Questionnaire (ECQ). Twenty-eight returned the questionnaires, and 25 of the 28 reported that they were exercising, a compliance rate of 89%. Six months later, the SMI and ECQ were mailed to the 25 subjects who were compliant, and 17 responded. Of those, 14 (82%) reported that they were still exercising (49% of the original sample). The overall mean indicated that the patients were moderately and consistently self-motivated.