Kinesiophobia aftermyocardial surgery

Kinesiophobia is one of the factors that hinder adherenceto secondary prevention in cardiovascular patients, limitingtheir physical activity and kinesitherapy. The aim of thisstudy was to examine the association between the degreeof kinesiophobia and specific risk factors in patientsafter myocardial surgery. The study included 35 patients(11 women, 24 men) with a mean age of 59 ± 8.81 years,who underwent myocardial surgery. Kinesiophobia wasassessed using the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, anddata on risk factors were also collected. The study wasconducted at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb,with prior approval obtained from the institution’s EthicsCommittee. Differences in the level of kinesiophobia amongdifferent patient groups were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, while the correlation with levels of physical andsedentary activity was examined using correlation analysis.Results showed that 71% of participants exhibited a highlevel of kinesiophobia. The most prevalent risk factors wereelevated blood pressure (77%), overweight and obesity(63%), and a family history of cardiovascular diseases(57%). A statistically significant positive association wasfound between kinesiophobia and sedentary behavior (p =0.03), while a negative association was observed betweenkinesiophobia and tobacco consumption (p = 0.04). Inconclusion, a high level of kinesiophobia is present inpatients after myocardial surgery, and reducing sedentarybehavior may have a positive effect on its alleviation. Theunexpected finding of lower kinesiophobia among smokersrequires further research to better understand the possiblecauses of this relationship.