Coronary Artery Bypass Graft(CABG) Surgery increases blood flow to the endangered myocardium but does not slow the process of atherosclerosis. The only way to slow the process of coronary artery disease is to acknowledge the risk factors present and minimize or totally eliminate them from an individual's lifestyle. Men and women respond differently to stress and lifestyle modifications. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference between genders in compliance to a heart healthy lifestyle pre and post CABG surgery.Thirty men and thirty women who had CABG surgery at least one year earlier were interviewed to assess coronary artery disease risk. The procedure for the protection of human subjects were followed. The instrument used was the RISKO Heart Hazard Appraisal Tool. This instrument was developed in 1985 by the American Heart Association and scored individuals on systolic blood pressure, weight, serum cholesterol level and cigarette smoking habits. Pre-operative records were also reviewed using the same tool to assess individuals preoperative risk. The research design used was 2 x 2 repeated measures. Data were analyzed using 2 x 2 repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).Two findings were discovered. First there was a statistically significant difference between men and women (F=5.82 p=0.019) with men scoring lower RISKO scores than women, indicating lower risk and better compliance to a heart healthy lifestyle, both pre- and postoperatively. Second there was a significant difference between preand postoperative RISKO scores in the total population (F=8.77 p=0.004). Postoperative RISKO scores were lower indicating an improvement in heart healthy lifestyle. There was no statistically significant difference between genders in the difference of pre- and postoperative RISKO scores (F=2.56 p<.115). The significance of this study was that it looked specifically at gender differences and assessed disparities in cardiovascular risk factors and the impact of surgery on men and women.This study found that overall, men had lower RISKO scores than women. Both genders also had improved RISKO scores postoperatively from preoperatively. No statistically significant difference between genders of the RISKO scores from preoperatively to postoperatively was found. Education needs to continue to play a big part in the cardiac rehabilitation process for both genders and specifically women need to become the target of further research and education to improve compliance to a heart healthy lifestyle. / School of Nursing

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2003. / Restricted until October 2004. Bibliography: leaves 95-101.