Most patients are not able to achieve recommended levels of physical activity following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Existing interventions to promote activity have not focused on promoting psychological well - being, which is independently linked to superi or cardiac health. To address this gap, we developed and tested a combined positive psychology - motivational interviewing (PP - MI) intervention in post - ACS patients to assess its feasibility and explore potential benefits in an initial randomized trial. We compared a 12 - week , phone - delivered , PP - MI intervention to an attention - matched , MI - based health education control condition among 47 post - ACS patients with low baseline health behavior adherence. Feasibility/acceptability were assessed via rates of sessio n completion and participant session ratings; we also explored between - group differences in positive affect, other self - reported outcomes, and accelerometer - measured physical activity, via mixed effects regression models, at 12 and 24 weeks. PP - MI partici pants completed a mean of 10.0 (SD 2.2) sessions (84%) , and mean participant ratings of sessions’ ease / utility were > 8/10 , above a priori thresholds for success. Compared to the control condition, PP - MI was associated with greater improvements in positive affect at 12 and 24 weeks (12 weeks: estimated mean difference [ EM D]= 3.90 [ SE = 1.9 5] , p=.04 5 , effect size [ES] = 0 . 56 ; 24 weeks: EMD = 7.3 4 [ SE = 2. 16] , p<.001 , ES=1. 12 ) . PP - MI was also associated with more daily steps at 12 weeks ( EMD = 184 2 .1 steps/day [SE = 849.8] , p=.030 , ES =0 .76 ) and greater moderate - vigorous activity at 24 weeks ( EMD = 15.1 minutes/day [ SE = 6. 8 ] , p=.026 , ES =0 .81 ). In conclusion, PP - MI was feasible in post - ACS patients and showed promising effects on well - being and physical activity; additional stu dies are needed to confirm these findings.
