Canadian Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing

AIMS: The purpose of the study was to investigate the agreement between carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and augmentation index adjusted at heart rate 75 bpm (AI@75) and to examine the relationship of AI@75 and cfPVW to demographic factors and blood pressures (BPs) in Korean Americans. METHODS: This study was a secondary analysis of a previous data setfrom 102 Korean Americans. AI@75 and cfPWV were measured using the SphygmoCor equipment. Age, gender, height, body weight and brachial BPs were included in the analysis...

As the life expectancy of Canadians continues to increase, so does the economic burden of chronic conditions within the health care system. One chronic condition that has increased over the past decade is atrialfibrillation (AF). With health care costs forAF estimated at more than $800 million and rising, a new approach is needed to manage AF care to reduce hospitalizations and emergency room visits, while improving patients' quality of life. Multidisciplinary outpatient clinics for heart failure patients have been implemented across Canada over the past decade, and have shown a reduction in hospital admissions and emergency room visits...

Mortality rates of women suffering from an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are high, and in young women are on the rise. The goal of this review is to investigate what is known about women's experience of AMI symptoms. By exploring the complexity and intersections evident in the literature though an integrative literature review process, it becomes apparent that the problem involves deeper contextual influences arisingfrom women's situation in society. Keyfindings in this review suggest that not recognizing the risk or symptoms of an AMI can lead to delayed health care seeking behaviours, and warrants the need for further education...

BACKGROUND: Post-cardiac surgery surgical site infections (SSIs) pose devastating consequences in terms of morbidity and mortality to patients. OBJECTIVE: To examine current risk factors and best practice perioperative care for prevention of SSI following cardiac surgery through the lens of the demographic/clinical characteristics of patients who developed post-cardiac surgery SSIs at a major tertiary care institution, and to identify where documentation is lacking and could be improved to better serve clinical practice...

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) affects 20 to 140 people per 100,000 globally with survival rangingfrom 2% to 11% (Meaney et al., 2013). Patients who have survived, but have been left with cognitive impairments due to anoxic brain injury should be offered early identification and initiation of rehabilitation needs during their admission to mitigate the impact of these deficits (Moulaert et al., 2011). Unfortunately, most cardiac survivors do not receive specialized rehabilitation during their acute hospitalization and there are no clinical pathways that currently exist to guide acute care practitioners regarding the appropriate timing of cognitive screens and early rehabilitation interventions...

BACKGROUND: Globally, about 8.6 million women die each year due to cardiovascular disease with cerebral vascular disease being the third leading cause of death in women. The province of New-foundland and Labrador has one of the highest rates of vascular disease in comparison to the rest of Canada. Women in New-foundland and Labrador have higher rates of vascular disease than their female cohorts across Canada. A vascular risk reduction programfor women aged 35 to 65 years was developed and implemented in a rural and an urban setting...

In the area of cardiac rehabilitation, little attention has been given to phase III (maintenance phase), as compared to phase II (rehabilitation phase). Studies on the maintenance phase have highlighted the importance of maintaining the newly acquired healthy living habits in order to continue benefitting from them and prevent the recurrence of cardiovascular diseases and mortality. However, these studies have revealed disturbing dropout rates, from 25 to 50%. There is little research on the factors associated with the maintenance of the new healthy living habits after completing phase II of a cardiac rehabilitation program...

RESULTS: Participants expressed uncertainty about their future health and feared disease recurrence, which appeared to provide motivation for adopting a healthier lifestyle. Although two participants voiced the belief that the elective PCI cured their disease, this perception did not appear to influence their engagement in risk reduction behaviours. However, systemfactors such as a lack of information, direction, and/or support from health care providers appeared to play a limiting role in their ability to move forward with lifestyle change...

The present study was conducted to examine the concept of post-traumatic growth (PTG) and its relationship with social support in patients with myocardial infarction. The study included 166 patients with myocardial infarction admitted to heart clinics in Bonab, Iran. Data were collected using the Post Traumatic Growth Inventory and the Clinical Social Support Scale. A positive, moderate relationship between social support and PTG (p<0.001; r=0.361) was found. Talking to others, providing tangible goods, and giving information about the disease may facilitate cognitive processing and adaptation, which, in turn, can lead to more PTG...

UNLABELLED: Every 40 seconds a person dies of cardiovascular disease.Individuals do not recognize the warning signs--prodromalsymptoms--of an imminent myocardial ischemic event. TheProdromal Symptoms-Screening Scale (PS-SS) is a nine-itemmeasure designed to evaluate PS in individuals with coronaryartery disease. AIM: This article reports onfour studies (systematic review,focusgroup study, content validity testing and factor analysis) that contributed to the development and psychometric examination ofthe PS-SS...

This project aimed to co-develop and pilot an intervention plan to support shared decision-making (SDM) for patients considering a ventricular assist device (VAD), their caregivers and the health care team. The project involved a focus group with patients and caregivers to explore their decision-making needs along with regular participation in team meetings resulting in the creation of a decision aid. The decision aid answered needs expressed by patients and caregivers, as well as the team's initial needsfor informational support, optimization of information exchange and process standardization...

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is an uncommon and devastating chronic illness with no known cure. Little is known about the disease, and even less about the psychosocial burdens. While it is important to create awareness about the physical aspects of the disease, it is equally important to create awareness about the psychosocial burdens patients and their families face. We reviewed the literature to better understand these psychosocial burdens, which include impact from physical limitations, emotional strains, financial burdens, social isolation, lack of intimacy in relationships, and an overall lack of information...

Abstract Symptom managementfor end-of-life heartfailure (HF) patients is a significant concern. Currently, Canadian practice does not support community milrinone therapy in end-of-life HF patients. Two patients had severe HF that was unresponsive to optimal medications. Further optimization and furosemide infusions were ineffective for symptom management. Both patients' symptoms were better controlled with optimal medication, furosemide, and milrinone infusions. A tailored discharge plan was developed to assist with community milrinone infusions...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Endovascular aortic repair is a relatively new surgical technique used to treat a variety of aortic pathologies. Aortic coarctation traditionally has been managed with open surgical repair, involving a large posterolateral thoracotomy, cardiopulmonary bypass, and replacement of the narrowed section of the aorta with a dacron graft. Recent advances in minimally invasive aortic surgery have allowed for repair of the diseased section with an endovascular stent placed percutaneously through the groin under intraoperative fluoroscopic guidance...

BACKGROUND: Multiple studies have demonstrated a reduction of cardiovascular events in patients who receive the annual influenza vaccine. Despite recommendations from cardiovascular societies, influenza vaccination remains suboptimal in the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) population. Barriers to receiving the influenza vaccination have not been explored. PURPOSE: To evaluate the barriers to receiving the influenza vaccine in patients with ICDs. DESIGN: Exploratory descriptive design using a survey developed by the staff of the ICD clinic...

BACKGROUND: Sedentary behaviour and the level of daily physical activity are of particular concern in cardiac patients, as diminished activity may be a strong predictor of mortality in this population. PURPOSE: In this study we assessed sedentary behaviour and the quantity and quality of daily physical activity among older cardiac patients who were at different stages of recovery following a cardiac event. DESIGN: We used a cross-sectional design and a convenience sampling technique...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence from large clinical trials that compliance with standardized best practice guidelines (BPGs) improves survival of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. However, their application is often suboptimal. PURPOSE: In this study, the researchers evaluated whether the use of an interactive voice response (IVR) follow-up system improved ACS BPG compliance. METHOD: This was a single-centre randomized control trial (RCT) of 1,608 patients (IVR=803; usual care=805)...