A wearable telehealth system for the monitoring of parameters related to heart failure.

Heart failure is a cardiovascular disease in which heart fails to pump sufficient blood required by the body. Significant signs of worsening heart failure include decreased thoracic impedance, increased heart rate, irregular electrocardiogram (ECG), and lack of motion activity of the patient. Heart failure can be better managed if monitored continuously and in real-time. The existing solutions for continuous monitoring of these parameters are invasive and hence are not only expensive but can also cause serious health risks. This paper discusses the development of a telehealth system that consists of an Internet of Things including a wearable device connected to a cloud-based database and a mobile application using Wi-Fi. The wearable device is a noninvasive monitor that consists of different sensors embedded with a microcontroller and can be a potential solution for better management of heart failure. It continuously monitors the above-mentioned parameters and sends data to the mobile application using a cloud-based system. The mobile application has separate portals for patients and doctors where doctor can monitor a specific patient enrolled under his profile. The performance of the developed device is validated in 10 healthy individuals.

Development of a wearable belt with integrated sensors for measuring multiple physiological parameters related to heart failure.

Heart failure is a chronic disease, the symptoms of which occur due to a lack of cardiac output. It can be better managed with continuous and real time monitoring. Some efforts have been made in the past for the management of heart failure. Most of these efforts were based on a single parameter for example thoracic impedance or heart rate alone. Herein, we report a wearable device that can provide monitoring of multiple physiological parameters related to heart failure. It is based on the sensing of multiple parameters simultaneously including thoracic impedance, heart rate, electrocardiogram and motion activity. These parameters are measured using different sensors which are embedded in a wearable belt for their continuous and real time monitoring. The healthcare wearable device has been tested in different conditions including sitting, standing, laying, and walking. Results demonstrate that the reported wearable device keeps track of the aforementioned parameters in all conditions.

CE: Guideline-Directed Cardiac Devices for Patients with Heart Failure.

ABSTRACT: Heart failure affects over 6.2 million adults in the United States and is expected to affect over 8 million by 2030. The U.S. one-year mortality rate is almost 30% among Medicare beneficiaries. Technological advances have produced several new cardiac devices that are available for therapy and symptom management. This article reviews current device therapies for heart failure and uses a composite case to demonstrate how bedside nurses can help patients understand treatment options related to their disease process and care for them through this experience.

Acute Care Nurses' Arrhythmia Knowledge: Defining Competency.

BACKGROUND: Most methods of evaluating arrhythmia knowledge acquisition are internally developed by nursing professional development practitioners and are institution specific. This approach has resulted in assessing nurses' minimal qualifications for rhythm recognition as defined by the facility but does not result in describing basic, intermediate, and advanced competency levels for practice. METHOD: This quantitative study with a convenience sample of 85 acute care nurses refined an instrument to assess varying levels of arrhythmia recognition competency for acute care nurses. RESULTS: The final instrument, called the Cardiac Arrhythmia Recognition Tool (CART), consisted of 33 items divided into basic, intermediate, and advanced subscales, with an overall Cronbach's alpha of .84. CONCLUSION: This study significantly contributes to defining arrhythmia competency in nurses caring for electrocardiographically monitored patients. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2020;51(1):39-45.].

Testing the Effect of a Home Health Heart Failure Intervention on Hospital Readmissions, Heart Failure Knowledge, Self-Care, and Quality of Life.

For older adults, heart failure (HF) has the highest 30-day hospital readmission rate of any chronic illness. Despite research into strategies to reduce readmissions, no single program has emerged as sustainable. The purpose of the current study was to test a researcher-developed home health nurse HF intervention (CareNavRN™) on 30-day readmission rates, HF knowledge, self-care, and quality of life (QOL) among 40 older adults transitioning home. Home health nurses received specialized HF training and visited patients once per week at home for 4 weeks. The control group (n = 21) had six readmissions (29%) and the intervention group (n = 19) had three readmissions (16%); however, the results were underpowered and statistically nonsignificant. Pre-/post-surveys demonstrated significant improvement in HF knowledge (p = 0.043), self-care confidence (p = 0.003), and QOL (p < 0.001) in the intervention group. CareNavRN is a promising approach to improve outcomes during transition from hospital to home for patients without access to a comprehensive disease management program. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 46(2), 32-40.].

Translating research findings to promote peace: moving from "field to forum" with verbatim theatre.

Peace, both personal and global, resides in understanding. Verbatim theatre is introduced as a vehicle for translating research findings to promote understanding and thereby, promote health. By shifting our translation lens from "bench to bedside" to "field to forum," new opportunities arise for moving nursing research-findings to an engaged audience. Stories from Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima survivors were woven into the verbatim performance, With Their Voices Raised. Analysis of audience members' reflections after the performance suggests that verbatim theatre created a connection based in openness, engagement, and trust that informed understanding and raised awareness about peace processes.