ABSTRACT
The importance of compensated work in the lives of adults in the United States cannot be overestimated. Due in part to this culture’s work ethic, it appears obvious that an “individual’s work is an integral part of his identity” (1) and, therefore, unemployment, whether caused by disability or loss of a job, can be harmful to the individual, not only from a financial perspective but from damage to the individual’s self-image. The importance and cost to the individual, combined with the cost to corporate America of recruitment and training of replacement workers, stress the importance of awareness of those factors that are important in determining whether and when cardiac patients can return to work.
