Tag: heart attacks

What Physiotherapy Has to Do with Cardiac Surgery

One may feel fatigued and sore after cardiac surgery; it is only natural. On the other hand, it seems altogether strange to think of embarking on a course of physiotherapy afterwards instead of just resting. Yet, that is just what is recommended.

Types of cardiac surgery include bypass surgeries, angioplasty, stents, heart valve replacements, and even heart transplants. Patients having all of these surgeries can benefit from physiotherapy. Patients who have other cardiac problems can use the help too; they include victims of heart attacks, heart failure, peripheral artery disease, chest pain, and cardiomyopathy.

Physiotherapy will usually begin within a couple of weeks of cardiac surgery, if not sooner. The first step is for nurses or doctors to administer a stress test to determine how much exercise one can handle. This involves walking on a treadmill or riding on a stationary bike while having one’s vital signs monitored.

When the data is gathered and analyzed, a program of physical therapy will be put into place. For safety’s sake, it is often the routine to bring cardiac surgery patients into the hospital or an outpatient clinic for their exercise at first.

Under the watchful eyes of nurses and physiotherapy personnel, cardiac surgery patients will be looked after as they perform their exercises. This way the professionals will be alerted if the cardiac surgery patient is having troublesome symptoms. The exercises done are cardiovascular exercises like walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike.

After the initial period of the monitored physiotherapy has passed, cardiac surgery patients will be sent to do their exercising at home. Before they go, though, they will have been taught warm-up and stretching exercises, and when to stop. Generally, they should exercise three to five times a week unless they are having problems.

Swimming is another form of exercise that is especially good for cardiac surgery patients. It is a cardiovascular exercise that is not hard on the joints, so it will often be kept up longer. The only thing to remember is that all wounds must be completely healed first.

Physiotherapy for cardiac surgery patients is often not carried out by physiotherapy staff. Nurses in hospitals and clinics who are trained to deal with these areas of rehabilitation for cardiac surgery will do the work. However, physiotherapists sometimes help, and the principles are the same.

The physiotherapist will instruct the patient about what activities are acceptable in the weeks and months after surgery. During the first six weeks, there will only be a few activities allowed, such as light housekeeping or going to movies, for example. From then until the third month, more activities will be added. You may be able to return to work, at least part-time, you may be able to drive. After this time, your physiotherapist will work with you to ease you back into all your old activities.

If a patient has cardiac surgery and then does nothing to regain strength, that patient will soon weaken. Physiotherapy offers a means to stay in shape, or get into shape. It lends more purpose to the cardiac surgery by making the patient much healthier than before the surgery ever took place.

Anxiety Simply Explained

Anxiety is a very normal, very common thing. It is how the body reacts to stress. Anxiety can help people cope with difficulties that arise in their lives such as with work or school. Anxiety will force the person to cope with the situation and to deal with it. However, excessive anxiety is a problem and is known as anxiety disorder. With anxiety disorder, a person panics about situations and is overwhelmed with feelings of overwhelming stress that they are not able to effectively deal with.

There are many symptoms that can be associated with anxiety disorder. Some of the most common symptoms related to anxiety disorder include fatigue, heart palpitations, chest pain, nausea, stomach pains, shortness of breath, and headaches. With anxiety, the body goes into a preparation mode to deal with the problem. You will find that your heart rate and blood pressure increase. You may start sweating more. Blood flow will be increased to the major muscles in your body. Your immune and digestive systems will stop functioning properly. Some of the outward signs of anxiety can include skin that is pale, sweating, trembling, pupils that are dilated. If someone is suffering from the effects of anxiety, they may have an overwhelming sense of panic of dread.

Panic attacks are a symptom that is seen quite frequently in those that suffer from anxiety. Panic attacks come on suddenly and there is often no warning. The fear that is associated with a panic attack is most often irrational. That being said, it is also true that the fear and perceived danger that the person suffering the attack has is very real. A person that is suffering a panic attack often feels like they are going to pass out or die. Oftentimes, panic attacks are mistaken for heart attacks.

There are many emotional symptoms that go hand in hand with the physical symptoms of anxiety. Sufferers may experience feelings of dread or apprehension. They may have difficulty concentrating. They may be very tense and jumpy. They may be irritable, anticipate the worst, be restless, constantly watch and wait for signs of danger, and may often feel like their mind is empty and blank. Many people that are suffering the effects of anxiety will have nightmares, obsess about sensations that they feel, feel like they are trapped in their mind, and fear everything.

Fear is the most common symptom with anxiety. This includes an overwhelming fear of death or dying. Those who suffer from anxiety may fear that the chest pains that they are experiencing, which are a physical symptom associated with anxiety, are a fatal heart attack. They also think that the severe headaches they have are caused by a brain tumor or aneurysm. Some sufferers are tremendously afraid of death and have overwhelming fear when they think about it. Others think of death as a normal thing. There are some sufferers that simply cannot get death out of their minds and they are obsessed with the thoughts of death.

Emergency Room Nurses: Always on Duty

The following article lists some simple, informative tips that will help you have a better experience with nurses.

Nurses are responsible, along with other health care workers or professionals, for the treatment and caring for the injured and acutely or chronically ill people.

Nurses attend to varieties of life and death matters in different health care settings. Emergency room nurses or ICU nurses specialize in rapid assessment and treatment, over every second counts in emergency cases. A nurse in this setting administers medication and assists physicians attending emergency room tasks related to medical care. Emergency room nurses are also responsible for keeping compassionate records.

Emergency nursing is a specialty of the nursing profession. Emergency nurses should always be ready to treat wide variety of illnesses ranging from throat infections to heart attacks or victims of cool trauma. The types of patients that show up in hospital emergency departments often depend on things like the weather, highway accidents, industrial accidents, fires and hundreds of unfortunate events. Emergency nurses are expected to care for patients of all ages.

Emergency nurses should embody familiar with the policies of the facilities their working for, as well as procedures and protocols. The emergency department has a fast paced environment, as a nurse for this department, emergency nurses are needed to utilize their skills in time juice. Right does not only refer to prioritizing patients but further prioritizing the nurses time. Time management will enable nurses to confidently complete their duties. It is very momentous for an emergency room nurse to be able to do multitasking.

According to Nurses for Healthier Tomorrow ( NHT ), a coalition of nursing and health perplexity organizations, there are three major roles an emergency nurse should carry out:

( 1 ) Patient Care.

Emergency nurses should care through patients and families in hospital emergency departments, ambulances, helicopters, urgent care centers, cruise ships, sport arenas, industry, government, and anywhere someone could have a medical emergency.

( 2 ) Education.

Emergency nurses should provide education to the public through programs that speak for wellness and prevent injuries. Some of the educational programs such because alcohol awareness, child passenger safety, inspection safety, bicycle and helmet safety and domestic violence prevention are usually conducted by nurses.

( 3 ) Leadership and Research.

Emergency nurses also may work as administrators, managers, and researchers to improve emergency health care.

For all of the demands of emergency nursing, an emergency nurse should be prepared at all times to provide patient care for partly any setting. Some emergency nurses tend to specialize in trauma, pediatrics, geriatrics and injury prevention. Nurses are not only attendants in hospitals and clinics, they may also be involved in medical and nursing research.

Else important responsibility of the emergency room nurse is to continually be aware of their working environment; maintain proper supplies and appropriate medical equipments necessary in caring for the patients. Due to part of their job duties, emergency room nurses engage in educational activities to promote the nursing profession and keep them up to date on today’s advanced diagnostics, technologies, medical equipment and safety techniques.

Emergency nurses are very much in demand nowadays. Emergency nursing is a profession that requires adept know-how in caring for ill and injured people with speed, efficiency and leadership.

Doing all of these medical tasks while attending to other duties requires skill in multitasking. That is why emergency room nurses are always up on their toes, always on duty. With integrated the responsibilities and duties being performed by an emergency nurse it is needful not to lose the thing that made us go into this profession, compassion and love for life.
It never hurts to be well-informed with the latest on nurses. Compare what you’ve learned here to future articles so that you can stay alert to changes in the area of nurses.

Fish Oil For The Heart

It seems that a lot of research and studies are showing how effective fish oil is in helping improve our heart conditions. Studies in Denmark showed that fish oil could reduce heart attacks by 50 %. While the Journal of American Medical Association published a report from Harvard School of Public Health that states that women who consume fish with higher Omega-3 fatty acid lessens their risk of incurring any heart disease.

These evidences show us how good Omega-3 fatty acid is to our body. This would actually improve our life and lengthen our life span. High contents of Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring and anchovies. They have docosahexaenoic acid or DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA which have anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulant effects.

Omega-3 fatty acid belongs to the polyunsaturated fats, along with omega-6 fatty acid. Omega- 6 acid come mainly from vegetable oil. Omega-6 oils can also provide the body with heart and health benefits, but too much is also bad for the body. Omega-3 fatty acids do not only help in heart issues, but also support brain development.

EPA and DHA are very important to our body. But the body does not produce Omega-3 fatty acid. We have to get the nutrients from our food. Omega-3 acids are called or referred to as building blocks of the body. They help the brain and vision development, not only for children but for adults as well.

Italian researchers actually say that consuming about 1 gram of Omega-3 per day would show significant effects on reducing heart attacks. A gram of Omega-3 fatty acid can be present in a medium sized serving of salmon.

How do these acids exactly reduce heart attack risks?

They reduce triglyceride levels. Triglycerides come from fats of the food that we eat and calories not digested. In excessive amount, tryglycerides can cause coronary heart disease. They are just like cholesterol, they block the arteries and these can lead to heart attacks.

Aside from that they can also stabilise irregular heart beat. It can lower blood pressure and increase the level of good cholesterol. They also have anti-inflammatory characteristics. They are also anti-coagulant which means they make sure that they platelets do not stick together are clot. These clotted platelets can also block the arteries and the blood flow. You call this Thrombosis.

But according to a research led by Dr. Jochen Senges of the University of Heidelberg, the risk for a second attack among patients who used recommended medications compared with those who are using fish oil has no significant difference. It just show how important it is to avoid getting any heart attack in the first place.

You can take fish oil supplement or eat a lot of fatty fish but if you do not combine them with a healthy heart diet, still it is going to be useless. A healthy heart diet would include high fiber food like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans and nuts. Aside from eating fish, eating good quality protein products like lean poultry, non-fat dairy, and other products that does not contain saturated fat or trans fat.

Fish oil is not a magic pill which can transform you immediately into a healthy person just by taking them. Being a healthy person does not only require taking food supplements but also eating properly and healthily.