Women Managing Heart Disease: Involvement of Spouse and Non-Spouse Care Partners

Purpose: Heart health is integral to promoting women’s overall health and healthcare. Following a cardiac event, engagement in recommended health-related activities (e.g., maintaining a healthy diet) speeds recovery and improves health. We investigate women’s perception of care partners who are involved in helping manage their heart disease. Methods: Data were drawn from two pilot studies (N = 54); interviews with women from hospital-based outpatient cardiac rehabilitation centers (study one), and online surveys completed by women with heart disease (study two). We compared women’s reports of involvement of their care partner (spouse vs non-spouse) in their health-related activities. Results: The proportion of women who identified their spouse as the person most involved in their disease management was equal to that of women who identified another network member (e.g., adult child or sibling). Contrary to expectation, care partner involvement in women’s health-related activities did not differ by care partner role relationship. Conclusions: Spouses and other close network members play a key role in women’s heart disease management. Leveraging involvement of care partners from women’s social network can galvanize support for disease management to improve health and quality of life for women with heart disease.