Academic Editors: Francesco Onorati, Brian Tomlinson and Takatoshi Kasai
Background: Exercise can help patients with aortic dissection (AD)
control blood pressure, prevent further progression of AD, promote mental health,
improve the prognosis of cardiovascular disease, and improve their overall
quality of life. However, it is not clear what the attitudes and behavioral
intentions of AD survivors are towards exercise. Methods: This
exploratory qualitative research was based on the Health Action Process Approach
(HAPA) theory to explore the cognition, attitude, motivational factors, behavior
intention, barriers and facilitators of exercise in patients with AD.
Face-to-face and telephone semi-structured interviews were conducted in 24 AD
patients from the Department of Cardio-Vascular Surgery of third-grade Class A
hospitals in Wuhan, China from April 2021 to June 2021. The patient’s current
stage of behavior was evaluated according to the Patient-Centered Assessment and
Counseling for Exercise (PACE) questionnaire. Results: Among the 24
participants interviewed, 9 (37.5%) were in the pre-intention stage, 8 (33.3%)
were in the intention stage, and 7 (29.2%) were in the action stage. The three
groups were significantly different in terms of their history of previous cardiac
surgery (Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.043)
and in the type of interview conducted (Fisher’s exact test,
p