Lifestyle profiles in acute coronary syndrome: stability and change

Healthy lifestyles are important in the secondary prevention of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Behavioral change following ACS has been analyzed only considering separate behaviors at time. However, previous research on healthy population demonstrated that unhealthy behaviors tend to cooccur. Our aim was to identify lifestyle profiles of ACS patients and their pathways of change following the ACS by adopting a typological approach. Three hundred and fifty-six ACS patients were recruited. Healthy habits, depression, anxiety, illness perception and clinical outcomes were collected immediately after the ACS and 6 months later. The I-States of Objects of Analysis was performed to identify lifestyle clustering and to analyze its change over time. We also assessed associations of luster membership with depression, anxiety, illness perception and clinical outcomes. We identified seven profiles, ranging from more maladaptive to healthier cluster. The results demonstrated a moderate individual and group stability of cluster membership. Healthier clusters displayed better psychological adjustment and less biomedical and anthropometric factor risks 6 months after the ACS. These results underline the importance of developing secondary prevention programs targeting multiple lifestyles at time.