Adherence to physical exercise program in patients with hypertension

Abstract

The study aims to assess adherence to a physical exercise program in patients with hyper-tension. 120 hypertensive patients were included in a 3-month physical exercise program (first 2 weeks, 10 daily sessions, under the supervision of a physical therapist in a rehabili-tation center, continued at home, 5 sessions per week). After the 3-month exercise program 108 patients completed an adherence questionnaire. All patients considered the physical exercise program important for their physical health; 82% of them also considered the program important for their mental health. 94% of patients admitted as necessary to con-tinue the physical exercise program after the end of the study. The lowest percentages of patients (47%) admitted the fitting of the physical exercise sessions performed in a rehabil-itation center with their daily program. Adherence to a 3-month physical exercise was beneficial for physical and mental health status of patients with hypertension. The pro-moting factors for a good adherence to rehabilitation were involvement and availability of patients, living in the city or nearby villages, free of charge exercise sessions and quality of physical therapy. The assessment of adherence by an easy-to-use tool can provide im-portant data for adapting the rehabilitation program to patients’ need and expectations. Keywords: hypertension; physical exercise; adherence.