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Aim: this paper reports the results of a nursing-administered theory-based intervention, the "Moving Heart Program", based on the implementation intention theory and pointed at improving physical activity adherence among coronary heart disease outpatients in Brazil., Methods: this experimental study applied assessments at baseline, 1 and 2 months after baseline. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials statement was followed. Participants were randomly assigned to intervention, comprising action and coping plans on how to deal with anticipated barriers (n=69), or a standard-care control group (n=67)., Results: participants submitted to the intervention showed significant higher levels of physical activity 2 months after baseline and were significantly more active than the control group., Conclusions: the results indicate that the intervention is feasible for patients with coronary heart disease and can be a useful tool to facilitate intended lifestyle changes. This study brings relevant contributions to the Nursing field and other health-related areas, once the intervention presents low cost to health services and can be applied in cardiac rehabilitation programs, showing significant benefits to participants.

Objective: to analyze the action and coping plans related to the behavior of adhering to drug therapy, developed by coronary heart disease (CHD) outpatients, and to identify the barriers perceived to adopting this behavior., Methods: the participants (n=59) were invited to formulate action plans and coping plans for the behavior of adhering to the cardio-protective medications and the symptom-relief medications., Results: specific action plans for taking the medications associated with temporal markers and the sleep-wake cycle were shown. The most frequently reported obstacles were forgetfulness and absence of routine in daily living activities. The coping plans for overcoming forgetfulness were the most specific., Conclusion: this study's findings support the application of implementation intentions aimed at optimizing adherence to drug therapy among patients with CHD.

The aim of this study was to report the development and the analysis of content validity and reliability of the Psychosocial Determinants of Physical Activity among Coronary Heart Disease Patients Questionnaire, based on an extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior. In the content validity step, three experts evaluated the instrument which was, afterwards, pre-tested with five subjects in order to obtain a conceptually appropriate and easily understood instrument. Fifty-one patients participated in the evaluation of internal consistency of the reviewed instrument. Cronbach's alpha coefficients above 0.75 were observed for the constructs: Intention, Attitude, Subjective Norm, Self-efficacy and Habit. The new instrument demonstrated acceptable evidence of content validity and reliability.