M.Cur. (Intensive General Nursing) / The rehabilitation of the coronary artery bypass patient should be a continuation of the contact which exists during the hospitalisation phase, with specific reference to the pre-dismissal phase. As a member of the health team, the nurse makes the most important inputs during this phase because she is the one who is in constant contact with the patient and his family. The purpose of this study is to determine, by means of set criteria and within a nursing perspective, the contributions that are made by various support groups to the rehabilitation of persons who have undergone coronary artery bypass surgery.

This study evaluates the outcomes of a hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation program designed to deliver the first phase of cardiac rehabilitation services at home. The program was established in a community hospital in 1985, operating under the administration of the hospital's Medical Day Centre. Patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction (MI) are referred to the program by their physician and receive services from a cardiac nurse specialist immediately upon discharge. The services continue for a period of 6 weeks. The outcomes of importance in the study are the effects of the program on hospital services in the initial 10 month period and on patient's health related behaviour 3 months post infarction. Results of the study indicate that program goals were achieved during the initial 10 months of the study. Physicians referred 92% of the eligible patients and the average length of stay (ALOS) in hospital was satisfactorily reduced. For patients with uncomplicated MI the ALOS was 8.6 days by the tenth month. At 3 month follow up, patients reported significant improvements over their pre infarction health related behaviour. There were significant increases in the frequency of light exercise (p<-0005), in the regular use of low fat dairy products (p=.0003) and in the practice of restricting calories (p=.003) while significant decreases were reported in the frequency of consuming fried foods (p<.0005), salted foods (p<.0005) and rich foods (p<.005) and in the regular use of table salt (p=.00003). Smoking cessation was reported by 50% of the smokers at follow up. Patients reported a high level of satisfaction with the program, describing the service as well timed, informative, practical and valuable in restoring their self confidence. While these results were satisfactory with regards to the program goals, the evaluation was based on a single group design and further investigation is desirable with comparisons between hospitals and between patients with and without exposure to the program. / Medicine, Faculty of / Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of / Graduate

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No description available.

Cardiac rehabilitation has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with heart disease. Determining the effect cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has on the quality of life (QOL) of patients who have participated in a CR program is an important health outcome measure. The majority of QOL studies have focused primarily on younger patients with little attention devoted to the elderly. The purpose of this descriptive, comparative study was to determine whether participation or lack of participation in a CR program will affect the perceived QOL of elderly patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). The Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) was used to measure QOL of two groups, those who participated in CR and those who did not participate in CR. A demographic inventory was used to collect sociodemographic information. The mean SIP scores for the physical and psychosocial dimensions, as well as the overall SIP score revealed less dysfunction for the group that participated in CR thereby indicating a better quality of life for this group. However, other methods of data analysis were not statistically significant. Although the results of this study were not statistically significant, they may be of clinical significance as indicated by the mean SIP scores and the percent of non-overlap scores. Education of the older patient and the public about the beneficial effects of CR on QOL is a prime responsibility of nurse practitioners.

The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between health expectations and compliance in persons who were attending a cardiac rehabilitation program. Three subscales of the Olivas Health Motivation Scale were administered to a convenience sample of 23 subjects at two points in time: at the beginning and at the completion of the prescribed sessions. A significant relationship was found between Stimulus Outcome Expectations and the duration of exercise at the beginning of the cardiac rehabilitation sessions (r = -.51, p =.02). The relationship between Regimen Efficacy Expectations and the duration of exercise was also found to be significant at the beginning of the sessions (r = -.40, p =.05). There was no significant relationship between health expectations and compliance at the completion of the sessions. One measure of health expectations, Stimulus Outcome Expectations (F = 10.11, p =.01), and two measures of compliance, duration of exercise (F = 406.45, p =.00) and metabolic equivalents (F = 74.14, p =.00), were significantly different between the beginning and the completion of cardiac rehabilitation.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of either a programmed instruction booklet or group lecture on knowledge of post myocardial infarction patients. A convenience sample of 30 post myocardial infarction patients enrolled in Cardiac Rehabilitation at a midwestern hospital were asked to participate.Subjects were assigned either to the experimental group or the lecture group. The pretest was administered to both groups. The experimental group received the self instruction booklet and the lecture group received a posttest was immediately completed by the participants. A nonequivalent pretest-posttest repeated measure design was utilized in the study.The results of the study showed a mean improvement in knowledge scores for both the booklet group and lecture group, with the booklet group having the larger gain in knowledge scores. The knowledge gain however, was not significant at the 0.05 level. / School of Nursing

While many short-term physical activity (PA) interventions in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients have proven to be successful at increasing PA levels, little is known about the long-term impact these interventions have. The purpose of the current study was to determine if the Increased Physical Activity in Cardiac Patients (IPAC) study utilizing pedometer feedback, motivational messages, and a combination of both were successful at increasing PA levels and improving cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors after 12 months. The results of the study indicated that none of the IPAC interventions were successful at increasing PA levels after 12 months compared to the usual care group and all groups reverted back to baseline levels. Additionally, no significant differences were seen across time or between groups in most CVD risk factors. Further research is needed to develop PA interventions in CR patients that foster long-term PA maintenance. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

Abdominal obesity is a part of insulin resistance syndrome that is closely linked to increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). Because fat tissue acts as an endocrine target and source of hormone production, increased metabolism or production of chemical messengers in fat tissue may result in metabolic perturbations that contribute to occurrence and recurrence of coronary events. This dissertation research entails two separate approaches. The first study, a cross-sectional analysis, sought to determine whether serum cortisol responses to oral glucose loading are associated with abdominal obesity, non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) suppression, and self-reported symptoms of depression in 26 non-diabetic coronary patients. We conclude that lower cortisol responses to oral glucose loading are associated with abdominal obesity, reduced NEFA suppression, and fewer symptoms of depression (P���0.028). Future prospective studies should determine whether psychosocial risk factors, such as depression and anxiety, increase cortisol production, whether increases in cortisol production act synergistically with a positive energy balance in the development of abdominal obesity, and whether increases in abdominal obesity lead to increases in cortisol metabolism and insulin resistance. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a marker of low-grade inflammation that is associated with increased risk for recurrent events in coronary patients. Fat tissue also secretes proinflammatory cytokines that stimulate hepatic production of CRP. Thus, the second study, an intervention study, sought to determine whether the first three months of cardiac rehabilitation could reduce serum concentrations of CRP and the proinflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-�� (TNF-��), in our non-diabetic coronary patients (N=26). Results from the intervention study showed significant reductions in serum CRP levels (P=0.012) that were associated with reductions in waist circumferences after cardiac rehabilitation (r=0.39, P=0.049). However, changes in serum TNF-�� levels after cardiac rehabilitation were nonsignificant (P=0.869). Thus, we conclude that cardiac rehabilitation may reduce the severity of low-grade inflammatory conditions, in part, through reductions in waist circumference in non-diabetic coronary patients. / Graduation date: 2001

No description available.