Irrational beliefs dangerous to health.

• Position: Your Life

Heart patients with beliefs about health that are not based on medical evidence are more likely to skip sessions of cardiac rehabilitation, according to research from Ohio State University, Columbus. Among the irrational beliefs assessed: doubting the preventive power of the flu vaccine or believing, based on family history alone, that it is safe to smoke cigarettes and carry excess weight after a doctor's warning about health risks linked to these behaviors.

Beyond these beliefs, a few demographic factors influenced adherence to a rehabilitation program. On average, older participants and those with higher incomes attend a higher percentage of sessions, while African-Americans, on average, attend a smaller percentage of sessions than whites. African-American patients are more likely than whites to have a higher number of irrational health beliefs.

"Most patients referred to cardiac rehab have been sedentary. Though they are in a supportive environment, exercise is still not necessarily pleasant and can be painful from time to time. So, it's important to examine factors that might negatively influence them and then intervene to address those factors--in this case, their irrational health...