Cardio-vascular nursing最新文献

Heart rate and blood pressure during rest and bathing are generally lower in healthy individuals than in hospitalized patients. However, medications can exaggerate or attenuate patients' responses. Heart rate and blood pressure are highest during showering and lowest during basin baths in both patients and healthy subjects, but the differences among the three types of bathing are not clinically dramatic. In addition, the vigor of the activity can be easily controlled; hospitalized patients naturally conserve effort and move more slowly and deliberately than healthy individuals. A tachycardic response to bathing seems to be common in both healthy subjects and hospitalized patients. Careful control of water temperature and heart rate monitoring during bathing appear to be indicated when hospitalized cardiac patients bathe. Comparison of responses to sitting and standing showering would be worthwhile. The findings of this study help delineate the typical cardiovascular responses of healthy adults to three methods of bathing. The findings also emphasize gender differences and the importance of studying both men and women. Only by determining normal responses in men and women can abnormal responses be recognized. More study on cardiovascular responses to bathing and other common activities in both healthy and sick persons is clearly needed to better describe, explain, predict, and control responses to activity and to build a scientific foundation for activity prescription and restriction.

Using the Patient Learning Style Questionnaire, the author examined differences in perceived learning styles of 125 subjects with coronary artery disease (CAD) for conditions and modes of learning commonly found in patient education. The relation of these preferences to selected personal demographic characteristics was also determined. The results indicate that these subjects most preferred organized, detailed instruction using oral and pictorial-graphic modes of presentation. Independent modes of instruction were less preferred. Additional research on the preferred learning style of CAD patients is needed to enable health professionals involved in CAD patient education to design teaching activities.

The purpose of this descriptive pilot study was to identify factors that influence patient participation in a cardiac rehabilitation program. Thirty-nine patients who were admitted to a midwestern hospital with a coronary problem and who were candidates for cardiac rehabilitation completed the Patient Entrance Into a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program (PECRP) questionnaire. The PECRP evaluates a subject's responses to Health Belief Model-based statements. Analysis by t test revealed significant differences for perceived benefits and barriers, indicating that patients who participated in a cardiac rehabilitation program perceived more benefits and fewer barriers to entering such a program than those who did not. No significant differences were found between groups for perceived susceptibility and perceived severity constructs. Analysis of demographic variables revealed significant differences for income and marital status on the perceived benefits and barriers construct, indicating that those who had an income greater than $20,000 and those who were married perceived more benefits and fewer barriers than those whose income was less than $20,000 and who were not married. Nursing implications for these patients are discussed, particularly those related to patient teaching before discharge.

Men and women have similar mortality and long-term survival after coronary artery bypass surgery. When compared with men, however, women have less favorable outcomes in graft patency, perioperative infarction, relief of symptoms, and physical activity levels. Finally, little information is available about women's employment and psychosocial outcomes, making comparisons between genders speculative at best. We suggest that prospective studies of bypass surgery in women include a thorough assessment of key variables such as symptoms, activity, and return to employment, housework, or both, before and after surgery. It is essential to examine the immediate postoperative activity level of female bypass surgery patients for information on resumption of household activities. This information is critical for successful rehabilitation. Whether the term "return to work" includes household activities must be addressed. This will allow researchers to use the same outcome when discussing "gainfully employed or active." For comparisons between the sexes, women of all age groups must be studied, since age clearly affects outcome. The effect of repeated surgeries must also be examined. As more women survive the first bypass, how they fare in subsequent operations will require study. The need to examine benefits of surgical versus medical treatment is critical. A primary issue is whether women are referred for surgical intervention later than men, and if so, is this a reason for their relatively poor outcome after this procedure? Furthermore, we predict that the multiple roles now assumed by women will influence incidence of heart disease and how women fare after surgical intervention.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)