Objectives To identify and critically synthesise literature on return to work of patients following a myocardial infarction and to identify factors that are associated with this. Background Understanding when patients return to work after myocardial infarction and what factors are associated with this may be helpful in designing person‐centred treatment plans to facilitate patients' rehabilitation and return to work. Design A narrative systematic review. Review methods Six databases, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, EMBASE, SCOPUS and ProQuest Health and Medicine, and the search engine Google were searched to retrieve peer‐reviewed articles published in English from January 2008–January 2020. In total, 22,217 papers were sourced and screened, with 18 papers retained for quality appraisal using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tools. Results The mean time to return to work varied between 46–192 days; about half the participants resumed work by 3 months. Patients who were male, younger, educated, non‐manual workers or owned their own business, and those who evaluated their general and mental health highly, and had shorter hospitalisation, fewer comorbidities, complications and mental health issues were more likely to return to work after myocardial infarction. Relevance to clinical practice Findings may help nurses detect patients at increased risk of failure to return to work and provide appropriate support to facilitate this.

This study aimed to determine the proportion of patients who returned to work within three months post-myocardial infarction and the factors that predicted return to work. A total of 136 participants with myocardial infarction completed the study questionnaires at baseline and three months post-discharge between August 2015 and February 2016. At the three-month follow-up, 87.5% (n = 49) of the participants who were working pre-infarction had resumed work. Age, gender, education, smoking, readmission after discharge, number of comorbidities, diabetes, social support, anxiety, and depression were significantly associated with returning to work at three months post-discharge. Age, gender, smoking, anxiety, and depression significantly predicted those patients with myocardial infarction that returned to work, using binary logistic regression. The majority of patients in work who experience myocardial infarction have the capacity to achieve a work resumption by three months post-discharge. Interventions that facilitate returning to work should focus on modifiable risk factors, such as improving these patients’ mental health, comorbid conditions, risk of readmission, smoking, and social support. Healthcare providers should work in partnership with patients’ family members, friends, and employers in developing and implementing interventions to address these modifiable factors to facilitate patients’ return to work.