Table 1 Patient interview quotes

Risk awareness associated with heart care

 “… Yeah there was no mention that it could lead to, in let’s say 20% of people, lead to heart disease or anything like that, no. Would have been nice to know.”

 “… they have a couple of cardiac tests, being BMP and TN, and the nursing staff don’t actually even know what they are. So that’s a little bit of an indication I think that they’re not aware of the heart side of things.”

Access to health services and other support

 “… Even the dietician they ring me up at home, and they are really happy.”

 “… The rehab exercise program has an information session every week and they go through different areas, and that’s really informative and there is usually people in the group that have been through, so are hearing other people’s experiences.”

 “… Oncologist is brilliant, and the neurologist is good. I have been very fortunate, happy with hospital services.”

Physical activity and nutrition

 “… because I have been through too many episodes where I crash and burn trying to do too much, and then suffer for it for 2 to 3 days. Now I try and pace myself.”

 “… I didn’t have breakfast and I really stuck to it; and very rarely I’d have lunch”.

 “… I am not a big fruit eat eater; I always have two meals a day instead of three. I think my eating habits are healthy because I have cut down on red meat and carbohydrates.”

Overall health after HF

 “… even up a ramp, I’ll lose my breath … and I start to get tired and physically just go down, completely down, in just a few minutes”.

 “… I feel like a 90-year-old ... Yeah, I’ve got no energy. If I do anything, I get out of breath really quick.”

Knowledge of diagnostic procedures

 “That’s the sticky one, that’s not the echo. ECG is when they put the sticky things on your chest and take a tracing of your heart.”

 “Oh yeah, they stuck some sticky things on me, a little while ago.”

Behavioural risk factors

 “I stay away from beer ‘cause it’s got hops in it which has got oestrogen in it and that feeds the … cancer. Um, I might drink one beer once a fortnight, maybe two and then I might have on the average two cans of rum and coke …”

 “I know I shouldn’t be ... well it’s one packet every 5 or 6 days … the patches weren’t working ... I had to go off that because of the other tablets I was on.”