Study limitations
obesity, reduced muscle strength and muscle activity, cardiac diseases, pain
OBESITY, CARDIAC DISEASES, INSULIN RESISTANCE, HYPERTENSION, DYSLIPIDEMIA
There are several limitations in the present study. First, this study included several cardiac diseases in the main diagnosis and comorbidities that require different treatments. Second, assessment of SB was by questionnaire and lacks objective measurements such as from an accelerometer. Third, domain-specific SB was not analysed in the present study and thus could not be investigated in detail. Because patients in phase I CR are, by definition, hospitalized, we could not investigate work or leisure time activities during hospitalization. Fourth, many patients were hospitalized for short-term procedures such as ablation or coronary angiography and were excluded from the final analysis, which may have led to the potential inclusion of selection bias in the present study. Fifth, the mechanism behind SB and other specific risk factors including, among others, cardiopulmonary function, hypertension, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, obesity, reduced muscle strength and muscle activity, decreased vascular endothelial function, cognitive function, and neck and shoulder pain, were not investigated