Return to work after an acute cardiac event

In Australia each year, a significant number of people suffer heart attacks or undergo coronary bypass surgery or coronary angioplasty.  Despite good medical and surgical outcomes, however, many patients do not resume work after the acute phase of their illness.  Often the reasons for failure to return to work are psychological.  Patients fear that work might cause stress and further heart problems.  Doctors sometimes encourage excessive caution which increases patients' fears about the dangers of work.  Further, employers are often reluctant to allow former employees to resume work after a cardiac illness in case further symptoms or deaths occur at work.  In the western suburbs where there is high unemployment and a greater number of people with limited education or a non-English speaking background, re-employment is often more difficult, especially for patients who have manual jobs.

This two-year project aims to examine more systematically the rates of return to work among patients admitted to the Western Hospital and investigate factors associated with failure to resume work.