Enhancing Chronic-Disease Education through Integrated Medical and Social Care: Exploring the Beneficial Role of a Community Teaching Kitchen in Oregon.

Teaching kitchens (TKs) are rapidly being utilized as models to integrate culinary education and chronic-disease education into healthcare settings. Our observational study details the structure and organizational processes (e.g., referral, services, medical and social care integration) of the Community TK at Providence Milwaukie Hospital in Portland, OR. We utilize electronic medical-record data from engaged TK participants (n = 3077) to evaluate between the association of engagement and clinical outcomes (e.g., HbA1c, blood pressure, weight and cholesterol). Mean baseline HbA1c of Highly Engaged TK patients with diabetes (n = 88) reduced from 9.8% to 8.6% at 6 months (p < 0.0001) and sustained significant reductions at 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months (p < 0.05). Highly Engaged patients with hypertension (n = 152) had significant, sustained reductions in blood pressure (p < 0.0001). Engaged patients in the same high-risk groups also had significant improvements in HbA1c and blood pressure. Both engagement subgroups had moderate improvements in weight change and cholesterol. This study shows promising associations of TK services that promote chronic-disease self-management with improved clinical outcomes among higher risk patients (e.g., high blood pressure, high HbA1c, high low-density lipoprotein) with different medical issues (e.g., diabetes, obesity) and social barriers (e.g., food insecurity).

Hospital-Based, Community Teaching Kitchen Integrates Diabetes Education, Culinary Medicine, and Food Assistance: Case Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Recent USDA Economic Research Service Population Survey cites a stabilization of food insecurity overall in the USA between 2019 and 2020, but Black, Hispanic, and all households with children cited increases - underscoring that the COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruptions to food insecurity for historically disenfranchised populations. AIM: Describe lessons learned, considerations, and recommendations from the experience of a community teaching kitchen (CTK) in addressing food insecurity and chronic disease management among patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. SETTING: The Providence CTK is co-located at Providence Milwaukie Hospital in Portland, Oregon. PARTICIPANTS: Providence CTK serves patients who report a higher prevalence of food insecurity and multiple chronic conditions. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Providence CTK has five components: chronic disease self-management education, culinary nutrition education, patient navigation, a medical referral-based food pantry (Family Market), and an immersive training environment. PROGRAM EVALUATION: CTK staff highlight that they provided food and education support when it was needed most, leveraged existing partnerships and staffing to sustain operations and Family Market accessibility, shifted delivery of educational services based-on billing and virtual service considerations, and repurposed roles to support evolving needs. DISCUSSION: The Providence CTK case study provides a blueprint for how healthcare organizations could design a model of culinary nutrition education that is immersive, empowering, and inclusive.

The relationship between pacing site and induction or termination of sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia by antitachycardia pacing.

BACKGROUND: With the development of left ventricular pacing for cardiac resynchronization, there is an interest in the possibility of improving ventricular antitachycardia pacing (ATP) efficacy by pacing from the LV electrode(s). OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the efficacy of pacing delivered from the left coronary vein (LCV) compared to that delivered from the right ventricular apex (RVA) upon ventricular tachycardia (VT) induction and termination. METHODS: Sixty patients undergoing provocative ventricular electrophysiology (EP) studies in three centers were enrolled. Multipolar EP catheters were placed in the atrium, the RVA, and LCV. VT induction was attempted from the RVA and LCV in random order. Upon detection of monomorphic VT, burst ATP for up to 10 pulses at 88% VT cycle length was delivered from the RVA or LCV, in a random order, and crossed over when possible. Identical VT morphologies were reinduced to allow paired comparison of RVA versus LCV ATP. RESULTS: Data from 55 patients were analyzed. Thirty-four morphologically distinct monomorphic VT types were induced in 22 patients. ATP succeeded in 18 (55%) and VTs in 13 patients. RVA ATP terminated 15 of 23 (65%) VTs, and LCV ATP terminated 10 of 23 (43%) VTs (P = 0.14). ATP delivered ipsilateral to the earliest activation site required 5.0 + or - 2.6 pulses to terminate compared to 4.8 + or - 1.7 pulses when delivered from the contralateral site (P = 0.90). Paired comparison was possible for 13 VT morphologies in 11 patients. Paired RVA and LCV ATP efficacy was identical (54%vs 54%, P = 1.0). CONCLUSION: ATP delivered from a LCV lead offers no efficacy advantage over pacing from the RVA.

Acute cardiovascular effects of epidural spinal cord stimulation.

BACKGROUND: Several animal studies support the contention that thoracic spinal cord stimulation (SCS) might decrease arterial blood pressure. OBJECTIVE: To determine if electrical stimulation of the dorsal spinal cord in humans will lower mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR). DESIGN: Case Series METHODS: Ten normotensive subjects that were clinically indicated for SCS testing were studied. Two of the 10 patients who underwent testing were excluded from the analysis because they did not respond to the Cold Pressor Test (CPT). Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate were measured continuously at the wrist (using the Vasotrac device). SCS was administered with quadripolar leads implanted into the epidural space under fluoroscopic guidance. SCS was randomly performed either in the T1-T2 or T5-T6 region of the spinal cord during normal conditions as well as during transient stress induced by CPT. The CPT was conducted by immersing the non-dominant hand in ice-cold water for 2 minutes. RESULTS: There were moderate decreases in MAP and HR during SCS at the T5-T6 region compared to baseline that did not reach statistical significance. However, SCS at the T1-T2 region tended to increase MAP and HR compared to baseline but the change did not reach statistical significance. Arterial blood pressure was transiently elevated by 9.4 +/- 3.8 mmHg using CPT during the control period with SCS turned off and also during SCS at either the T1-T2 region or T5-T6 region of the spinal cord (by 9.2 +/- 5 mmHg and 10.7 +/- 8.4 mmHg, respectively). During SCS at T5-T6, the CPT significantly increased MAP by 5.9+/-7.1 mmHg compared to control CPT (SCS off). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that SCS at either the T1-T2 or T5-T6 region did not significantly alter MAP or HR compared to baseline (no SCS). However, during transcient stress (elevated sympathetic tone) induced by CPT, there was a significant increase in MAP and moderate decrease in HR during SCS at T5-T6 region, which is not consistent with previous data in the literature. Acute SCS did not result in adverse cardiovascular responses and proved to be safe.

Simultaneous atrial and ventricular anti-tachycardia pacing as a novel method of rhythm discrimination.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a new discrimination algorithm for supraventricular (SVT) and ventricular (VT) tachycardias, based on the response to simultaneous (A+V) atrial (A) and ventricular (V) anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP). METHODS: Patients undergoing electrophysiological testing or dual-chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation were enrolled (N = 32) and underwent A+V ATP through a Marquis ICD with investigational software. If persisting after ATP, the rhythm was classified as VT if the first electrical event was sensed on the V channel and as an SVT otherwise. RESULTS: Arrhythmia sequences (N = 275; 53 VT; 222 SVT) were analyzed in 26 patients (age = 51 +/- 17 years, 13 men, LVEF = 0.49 +/- 0.14). In response to A+V ATP, 55% of SVT versus 41% of VT episodes were terminated (P = NS). Termination of VT but not of SVT was more likely with faster (50% at ATP/arrhythmia cycle length (CL) = 0.81 vs 8% at ATP/arrhythmia CL = 0.88, P = 0.02) but not with longer ATP bursts (P = NS). Of the 115 arrhythmias that persisted after A+V ATP, the algorithm correctly classified 24 of 24 VT (GEE-adjusted sensitivity = 100%) and 85 of 91 SVT (GEE-adjusted specificity = 93%). Proarrhythmia was noted after two A+V ATP, in the form of atrial fibrillation induction and VT acceleration. CONCLUSIONS: We describe a new algorithm that can discriminate between SVT and VT with a high sensitivity and specificity. This form of ATP can terminate 55% of SVT sequences. The performance of this new algorithm merits further testing in a large population of dual-chamber ICD patients.

Intrathoracic impedance monitoring in patients with heart failure: correlation with fluid status and feasibility of early warning preceding hospitalization.

BACKGROUND: Patients with heart failure are frequently hospitalized for fluid overload. A reliable method for chronic monitoring of fluid status is therefore desirable. We evaluated an implantable system capable of measuring intrathoracic impedance to identify potential fluid overload before heart failure hospitalization and to determine the correlation between intrathoracic impedance and standard measures of fluid status during hospitalization. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-three patients with NYHA class III and IV heart failure were implanted with a special pacemaker in the left pectoral region and a defibrillation lead in the right ventricle. Intrathoracic impedance was regularly measured and recorded between the lead and the pacemaker case. During hospitalizations, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure and fluid status were monitored. Ten patients were hospitalized for fluid overload 25 times over 20.7+/-8.4 months. Intrathoracic impedance decreased before each admission by an average of 12.3+/-5.3% (P<0.001) over an average of 18.3+/-10.1 days. Impedance reduction began 15.3+/-10.6 days (P<0.001) before the onset of worsening symptoms. There was an inverse correlation between intrathoracic impedance and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (r=-0.61, P<0.001) and between intrathoracic impedance and net fluid loss (r=-0.70, P<0.001) during hospitalization. Automated detection of impedance decreases was 76.9% sensitive in detecting hospitalization for fluid overload, with 1.5 false-positive (threshold crossing without hospitalization) detections per patient-year of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Intrathoracic impedance is inversely correlated with pulmonary capillary wedge pressure and fluid balance and decreased before the onset of patient symptoms and before hospital admission for fluid overload. Regular monitoring of impedance may provide early warning of impending decompensation and diagnostic information for titration of medication.