Device nurse intervention facilitates the patients' adaptation to cardiac shock devices in the remote monitoring era.

BACKGROUND: A substantial number of patients with shock devices (implantable cardioverter defibrillators [ICDs] or ICDs with resynchronization [CRTDs]) experience psychological distress. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the device nurse telephone intervention's effect on improving the patient's adaptation to shock devices, quality of life (QOL), and anxiety in the remote monitoring era. METHODS: The patient's adaptation to the device, health-related QOL, and anxiety were investigated by the modified Implanted Devices Adjustment-Japan score (IDAS), Short Form-36, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) before and 1-year after the device nurse telephone intervention, performed every 3 months. A total of 95 patients (median age 69 years and 25 females) participated. Sixty patients had ICDs and 35 CRTDs. Structural heart disease was observed in 72 patients, and idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias in the others. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 46% ± 15%. The median duration since the device implantation was 5.2 years. RESULTS: The total IDAS score significantly improved from 28.42 ± 7.11 at baseline to 26.77 ± 7.68 (p = 0.0076) at 1 year. Both the state and trait anxiety significantly improved (from 38.9 ± 9.6 to 35.3 ± 9.0 [<0.0001] and 38.8 ± 10.3 to 36.2±9.8 [p = 0.0044], respectively). The prevalence of patients with a state and trait anxiety of more than 40 decreased from 44 (46%) and 38 (40%) patients before the study to 27 (28 %) and 32 (34 %) at 1 year. The SF-36 mental component summary score significantly increased (50.8 ± 8.3 at baseline to 53.1 ± 7.7 at 1 year, p = 0.0031). CONCLUSIONS: The device nurse intervention facilitated the patient's adaptation to the shock device, increased the health-related QOL, and reduced the patient's anxiety.

Current Technology to Maximize Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Benefit for Patients With Symptomatic Heart Failure.

The incidence of heart failure (HF) continues to increase, affecting millions of people in the United States each year. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been used and studied for patients with symptomatic HF for more than 20 years. The purpose of this article is to review technologies and developments to help maximize CRT for patients with symptomatic HF. Although most interventions to optimize CRT are physician directed, nurses also have an important role in the care and education of patients with symptomatic HF and can affect clinical outcomes. Therefore, nurses' understanding of CRT and measures to maximize this life-saving therapy is critical in HF management.

Teste ergométrico em portadores de dispositivos cardíacos eletrônicos implantáveis / Exercise testing in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices

O número de pacientes com dispositivos eletrônicos vem crescendo substancialmente nos últimos anos. Marca-passos com inúmeras programações e desfibriladores com ou sem ressincronizadores, cada vez mais comuns, apresentam-se com traçados eletrocardiográficos confundidores. Assim, é necessária a compreensão de princípios básicos e técnicos pelos clínicos, além da integração entre estes e os eletrofisiologistas. O conhecimento de tais princípios básicos é fundamental na condução desses pacientes, de modo que o ergometrista deve estar ciente do tipo de dispositivo, programação, frequência mínima e máxima de comando, presença de desfibrilador, bem como suas frequências de terapias e desfibrilação. Assim, promover-se-á maior segurança durante provas funcionais (teste ergométrico e ergoespirométrico) e programas de treinamento físico. Este artigo de revisão tem por objetivo descrever diversos pontos de interesse na realização do teste ergométrico em portadores de dispositivos eletrônicos.

The number of patients fitted with cardiac implantable electronic devices has grown substantially over the past few years. Pacemakers with countless programming options and defibrillators with or without resynchronization devices are increasingly more common, with confusing electrocardiographic findings. Consequently, general practitioners must understand their basic principles and techniques, in addition to developing stronger links with electrophysiologists. Knowledge of these basic principles is crucial for managing these patients, meaning that people administering ergometric testing must be aware of the type of device and its programming, minimum and maximum command frequency and defibrillator, as well as its treatment and defibrillation frequencies. This will ensure greater safety during ergometric and ergospyrometric exercise testing and exercise programs. This paper describes several points of interest in ergometric testing for patients fitted with cardiac implantable electronic devices.