Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability among women. Nevertheless, little research has been done on the recovery and quality of life of women with this disease. Preliminary research has shown that a woman's employment status is a significant predictor of her quality of life after a myocardial infarction. Traditional definitions of employment may not be helpful in this population, however, and other measures may be more meaningful to describe a woman's return to prior functional capacity. Therefore, this study is designed to qualitatively describe the effect of cardiac disease on women's vocational status. Twenty subjects have participated in a guided, audiotaped interview about the effects of cardiac disease on their vocational status and functional capacity. Interview transcriptions are being analyzed by computer, using the constant comparative technique to generate common themes. These qualitative, descriptive findings are expected to generate questions and hypotheses for future quantitative research.
