Know your devices medical alarm options!

There are a number of medical alarm options out there that target the elderly and disabled population. You should know that there are also devices that do not go directly to a monitoring center and instead directly dial 911. These are typically cellular and VoIP systems.

With cellular systems, they are not directly tied to a specific address because they are mobile and can go anywhere. This means you would have to rely on either the person using the device to know exactly where they are OR the phone giving 100% accurate GPS coordinates. This can be an issue in rural areas due to poor cellular service, and also in heavily populated areas such as an apartment complex or high rise building. Current technology only provides latitude and longitude without altitude.

If you use a device that is monitored by an alarm company they should preemptively solicit valuable information from you that would be available to pass to the 911 dispatcher should the need arise. This will allow responders to have a better location and nature of the incident if the patient is unable to talk or can’t be heard for any reasons.

Understand how your device works and make sure that they will be able to provide help when you need it most. The worst time to find out if your device will get you help is the moment when you need the help. A few questions and a little research can help in making the right decision.

Source credit: Grand Traverse 911

 

For a healthy heart eat a rainbow every day!

Fiber, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, high nutrients, low-calorie, no artificial flavors or colors, natural sugars are part of a heart healthy diet and all easily available in a diet rich in colorful vegetables. If it is hard to get your servings of vegetables per day consider smoothies, chopping into small pieces adding small amounts to every meal you make. Ask yourself are you getting 4 1/2 cups a day of vegetables? Most will say no. Try new vegetables, search the internet for recipes.

Exercising with heart disease

Start slow and add a little more over time. Make it feel  as if when finished feel like you could have done more easily. Begin exercising at this intensity for several sessions before making large increases in your intensity or effort required to be physically active. . Remember the whole goal is to adapt, and by doing so the body is changing how it responds. In the early recovery stage  the exercise prescription is very light. Do you know What exercise prescription is best for you?

Since exercise should be part of your everyday routine in order to make it a lifelong habit  injury avoidance is important to be aware of overuse signs and symptoms, to rest those muscles when needed.  Occasionally cardiovascular disease patients develop Peripheral Artery Disease and symptoms can present similarly to overuse. Pain should signal the body to be aware that something is going on.  Take some time to evaluate that pain, what happens with it, does it always come on at a certain time or point of the exercise or activity? How long does it take to go away? Can it be avoided while being active by another means for instance switching from walking to biking?  Make sure you communicate these findings with your healthcare practitioner as they could be signals of other health conditions related to heart disease and it’s recovery.

Some exercise and activity is better than none, so start slowly. Even a warmup is better than no exercise session here is why  warming up before strenuous activity helps your heart.

Don’t expect results overnight, but do take small steps each day. Move that blood around, push it through the muscles. Make the muscles use the oxygen in the blood  more efficiently. Exercise helps the the heart recover and stay strong.

You might not notice any big changes—especially in your weight—for a few weeks or even months. It is still good for your heart health! It is not all about weight loss. Forget the scale for a while. In fact many who initially start to exercise following hospitalization are  Sedentary at the start and will gain a couple of pounds. It is their muscles getting pumped up, holding and utilizing more blood flow. Generally the focus on how you feel.

 When not to exercise is if you are presenting with Signs and symptoms of heart problems. Exercise should be avoided if  if you are presenting with congestive heart failure, or are presently sick. When returning to exercise following illness 

Symptoms to be alert for include these.

Do you make an effort to include plant sterols in your diet?

Plant Sterols

4-16-13 National Healthcare Decisions Day

 

Working in healthcare the frequency of poor decision making when it comes to end of life decisions and choices has made many a good healthcare provider change careers. It becomes an ethical dilemma when patients are coerced into major procedures when the outcome will be poor regardless of the intervention. Many times it is because of poor communication between the patient, their family and the caring physicians.  This can largely be prevented through advanced care planning. Effective communication between the patient or legally designated decision-maker and health care professionals ensures decisions are sound and based on the patient’s understanding their medical condition, their prognosis, the benefits and burdens of the life-sustaining treatment and their personal goals for care.

The discussion should include what interventions would you agree to, what do you want to avoid? What do you want your family to know. Decisions include CPR, life support, respirators, tube feedings, surgical procedures, pain management, medications, skilled nursing facilities, hospice. How do you choose to spend your final days? At the bottom of this post you will find many wonderful resources to help you in decision making, and communication with family and physicians.

• Aging With Dignity (Five Wishes) – Order Online
• Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment
• Caring Connections – Download Free State Specific Advance Directives
• Center for Practical Bioethics – Download for free
• Compassion and Choices – State-Specific Advance Directive Material
• Lifecare Advance Directives – Advance Directive Support Documents
• MedicAlert Foundation – Advance Directives for all 50 States
• MyDirectives (Platform to complete free advance directives online)
• National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives
• Project GRACE – Download
• The Will to Live Project
• The Patients’ Rights Council

advance care planning to keep healthcare centered around patient goals.

What people with heart conditions need to know about Atrial Fibrillation

This progressive and debilitating disease can lead to stroke, heart failure, and Alzheimer’s disease, and can double your risk of death. Afib takes a physical toll, an emotional toll, and a financial toll on those who are living with it—not just the patient, but the family, too.

Although atrial fibrillation itself usually isn’t life-threatening, it is a serious medical condition that sometimes requires emergency treatment.

It can lead to complications.

Symptoms of A Fib

• Skipping, fluttering,or quivering of heartbeat
• Heart beating too hard or fast
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Confusion
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain or pressure
• Tired when resting or when active
• Swelling of feet, ankles,and legs
• Feeling anxious

Here is a short video Do you know what Atrial Fibrillation feels like?

What Causes Atrial Fibrillation?

Atrial fibrillation (AF) occurs if the heart’s electrical signals don’t travel through the heart in a normal way. Instead, they become very rapid and disorganized. With atrial fibrillation (AFib),the electrical signals of the heart are abnormal.

• The top and bottom parts of the heart don’t work together as they should
• The heart beats very fast and irregularly
• As a result,blood is not properly pumped to the bottom part of the heart and the rest of the body

Damage to the heart’s electrical system causes AF. The damage most often is the result of other conditions that affect the health of the heart, such as high blood pressure and coronary heart disease.

 

Understanding the Electrical Problem in Atrial Fibrillation

In AF, the heart’s electrical signals don’t begin in the SA node. Instead, they begin in another part of the atria or in the nearby pulmonary veins. The signals don’t travel normally. They may spread throughout the atria in a rapid, disorganized way. This can cause the atria to fibrillate.

The faulty signals flood the AV node with electrical impulses. As a result, the ventricles also begin to beat very fast. However, the AV node can’t send the signals to the ventricles as fast as they arrive. So, even though the ventricles are beating faster than normal, they aren’t beating as fast as the atria.

Thus, the atria and ventricles no longer beat in a coordinated way. This creates a fast and irregular heart rhythm. In AF, the ventricles may beat 100 to 175 times a minute, in contrast to the normal rate of 60 to 100 beats a minute.

If this happens, blood isn’t pumped into the ventricles as well as it should be. Also, the amount of blood pumped out of the ventricles to the body is based on the random atrial beats.

The body may get rapid, small amounts of blood and occasional larger amounts of blood. The amount will depend on how much blood has flowed from the atria to the ventricles with each beat.

Most of the symptoms of AF are related to how fast the heart is beating. If medicines or age slow the heart rate, the symptoms are minimized.

AF may be brief, with symptoms that come and go and end on their own. Or, the condition may be ongoing and require treatment. Sometimes AF is permanent, and medicines or other treatments can’t restore a normal heart rhythm.

Major Risk Factors

A good question to ask your healthcare provider is what is the cause of my AFib?

Atrial Fibrillation  is more common in people who have:

• High Blood Pressure
• Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)
• Heart Failure
• Rheumatic heart disease
• Structural heart defects, such as mitral valve prolaps
• Pericarditis;  a condition in which the membrane, or sac, around your heart is inflamed
• Congenital Heart Defects
• Sick sinus syndrome (a condition in which the heart’s electrical signals don’t fire properly and the heart rate slows down; sometimes the heart will switch back and forth between a slow rate and a fast rate)

AF also is more common in people who are having heart attack or who have just had surgery. The risk of AF increases as you age. Inflammation also is thought to play a role in causing AF.  Drinking large amounts of alcohol, especially binge drinking, raises your risk. Even modest amounts of alcohol can trigger AF in some people.  Sometimes, the cause of AF is unknown.

Treatment Goals

• Slow heart rate
• Regain normal heartbeat
• Treat causes
• Lower risk of stroke and heart failure

Warning Signs of Stroke

• Numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg ,especially on ONE side
• Confusion
• Difficulty speaking or understanding
• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Trouble walking or with balance
• Dizziness
• Severe headache

Warning Signs of Heart Failure

• Shortness of breath
• Trouble doing usual activities
• Difficulty breathing when lying flat
• Weight gain
• Swelling in legs, ankles, or feet

Treatment options

 Heart Procedures

• Cardioversion

Cardioversion is done two ways: An electrical procedure,  in which your heart is given low-energy shocks to trigger a normal rhythm. You’re temporarily put to sleep before the shocks are given. This type of cardioversion is done in a hospital as an outpatient procedure. “Outpatient” means you can go home after the procedure is done.

Cardioversion through use of medicines. Using medicines to correct arrhythmias also is a form of cardioversion. This type of cardioversion usually is done in a hospital, but it also can be done at home or in a doctor’s office. It is known as a rhythm controller

• Catheter ablation

During catheter ablation, a series of catheters (thin, flexible wires) are put into a blood vessel in your arm, groin (upper thigh), or neck. The wires are guided into your heart through the blood vessel.
A special machine sends energy to your heart through one of the catheters. The energy destroys small areas of heart tissue where abnormal heartbeats may cause an arrhythmia to start.

Catheter ablation often involves radiofrequency (RF) energy. This type of energy uses radio waves to produce heat that destroys the heart tissue. Studies have shown that RF energy works well and is safe.

Lifestyle changes

• Do I need to change my eating habits?
•  Should I change my activity level?
• What else can I do to lower my risk?
•  Stopping smoking
•  Limiting/avoiding alcohol
•  Limiting/avoiding caffeine

Resources:

Living with Atrial Fibrillation patient educational materials

Learn about Atrial Fibrillation here

A heart away from stroke documentary  Discovery Channel explores the connection between atrial fibrillation and stroke – in order for patients to learn about the importance of stroke prevention

Sources:

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/index.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/atrial-fibrillation/DS00291

http://www.stopafib.org/