Can causal explanations about endothelial pathophysiology benefit patient education? A cluster randomized controlled trial in cardiac rehabilitation

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether explaining causal links among endothelial pathophysiology, cardiac risk factors, symptoms and health behaviors (termed causal information) enhances patients' depth of knowledge about cardiovascular disease self-management and their perceptions of the cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention (CRSP) program. METHODS: Newly referred CRSP patients (N = 94) were cluster randomized to usual care (control; UC) or …