Progress in cardiovascular nursing
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Prog Cardiovasc Nurs · Jan 2007
ReviewCardiac rehabilitation: a comprehensive program for the management of heart failure.
Heart failure is one of the major health problems found in the United States today. Medical and interventional therapies play an important role in the treatment of this chronic condition, but they create a huge economic burden on the health care system. Nonpharmacologic interventions need further exploration. ⋯ The most favorable outcomes were observed in supervised settings. Cardiac rehabilitation provides an ideal environment for safe exercise and management of the health care needs of patients with heart failure. The multidisciplinary staff is adept at providing a paced approach to activity based on individualized exercise prescriptions, education, and management of this population's many comorbidities.
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Prog Cardiovasc Nurs · Jan 2006
Atrial fibrillation following cardiac surgery: a retrospective cohort series.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common postoperative complication of cardiac surgery, yet the prevention and treatment of postoperative AF remains controversial and varies among practitioners. The purpose of this study was to document the incidence and time of onset of postoperative AF in a cardiac surgical cohort, examine risk factors implicated in the occurrence of postoperative AF, and assess effectiveness of current treatment strategies implemented for postoperative AF. A retrospective health record review was conducted on 1078 adults following cardiac surgery. ⋯ Advancing age, history of AF, combined cardiac valve and coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and high Mg+2 levels on the third postoperative day were significant predictors of postoperative AF in this cohort. Length of hospitalization increased with the presence of postoperative AF. Findings corroborate that multiple factors play a role in the development of AF following cardiac surgery.
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Prog Cardiovasc Nurs · Jan 2006
Somatic symptoms explain differences in psychological distress in heart failure patients vs a comparison group.
Psychological distress is common among patients with heart failure (HF); however, somatic symptoms are also common and may confound its assessment. Understanding the contributions of symptoms to psychological distress may assist in focusing treatment. ⋯ The HF patients scored higher on depression, as measured by the Centers for the Epidemiological Studies of Depression Scale, but not on the other depression or anxiety scales. Group-related differences in depression were explained by sleep disturbance, fatigue, and excessive daytime sleepiness, after accounting for the effects of age, sex, minority status, comorbidity, and physical function.