Changes in physical activity among coronary and hypertensive patients: a longitudinal investigation using the HAPA

Background: Physical activity (PA) plays an important role in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This study aimed to use the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) to investigate changes in PA in patients affected either by acute coronary syndrome (CPs) or essential arterial hypertension (HPs). Methods: CPs (N=188) and HPs (N=169) completed a questionnaire at baseline, 6 months (T1) and 12 months (T2) after baseline. Repeated measures ANOVA and multisample path analysis were performed. Results: Both the populations improved their PA, but CPs showed greater changes than HPs, strongly improving their PA at T1 and then maintaining it at T2. Moreover, results indicated equivalence of the HAPA model for both patient populations. Conclusions: Findings provide further evidence for the generalizability of the HAPA, which has never been employed to investigate PA on patients affected by hypertension. Moreover, the equivalence of the model for both the populations suggests that the process of change is almost identical for individuals who are at high risk for coronary event (HPs) and individuals who have already had the event (CPs).