PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Education, psychological support key for defibrillator patients

American Heart Association scientific statement

2012-09-25
(Press-News.org) Improved patient education and ongoing psychological support will help people cope with the psychological distress of having an implanted defibrillator, according to a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. The statement, published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, is a comprehensive review of the psychosocial and quality of life for people who receive an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to restore normal heart rhythm and prevent sudden cardiac death. It includes recommendations for improved patient care and identifies areas where more research is needed. The authors recommend routine screening and appropriate treatment for anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, which patients with ICDs often experience. "A shock from an ICD can be lifesaving, but it can also affect a person's quality of life and psychological state," said Sandra B. Dunbar, R.N., D.S.N., chair of the statement writing group. "It's important to look at this issue now because 10,000 people have an ICD implanted each month. They range from older people with severe heart failure to healthy children who have a gene that increases the risk of sudden cardiac arrest." Before implantation, clinicians should provide clear information about the benefits and limitations of the ICD, prognosis and impact on lifestyle including activity and occupation. "Education and support need to include the patient and the family and be broader than just a focus on maintaining the device. Providers need to help patients address ICD-specific concerns about symptoms, heart disease treatment, physical activities and end-of-life issues," said Dunbar, who is also the Charles Howard Candler Professor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University in Atlanta. Among the statement's recommendations to improve psychological outcomes, physicians and nurses should: Emphasize that the ICD protects against sudden death, but does not improve your underlying heart condition unless the device does other things, such as certain types of pacing. Assess the patient's concerns and psychological status at each follow-up visit. Develop a clear "shock plan" so patients and family members know what to do in the event of a shock. Help patients and their families deal with stressful situations that may develop with an ICD. Provide gender-specific, age-appropriate information for children and their families.

Although pediatric ICD recipients make up less than 1 percent of the ICD population, complications are more frequent and these patients will live with the defibrillators for a much longer period of time, according to the statement. "Experiencing a shock is distressing and patients have a wide variety of responses," Dunbar said. "Some find it very reassuring that it's working, while others find the actual physical sensations frightening and overwhelming. That's why we suggest that clinicians provide an ongoing assessment of ICD patients' psychological needs." The statement identified several areas for further research, including predicting which patients are likely to experience psychological distress and how to alleviate it; the level of sports participation and physical activity appropriate for children and teens with ICDs; and when and how to discuss potential ICD deactivation near the end of life. ### Co-writers include Cynthia Dougherty, R.N., Ph.D.; Samuel Sears, Ph.D.; Diane L. Carroll, R.N., Ph.D.; Nathan Goldstein, M.D.; Daniel Mark, M.D.; George McDaniel, M.D.; Susan J. Pressler, R.N., Ph.D.; Eleanor Schron, R.N., Ph.D.; Paul Wang, M.D. and Vicki Zeigler, R.N., Ph.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association receives funding mostly from individuals. Foundations and corporations donate as well, and fund specific programs and events. Strict policies are enforced to prevent these relationships from influencing the association's science content. Financial information for the American Heart Association, including a list of contributions from pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers, is available at www.heart.org/corporatefunding.

American Heart Association Consumer Resources:

What Is Arrhythmia? Devices For Arrhythmia Animation of ICD Arrhythmia Tools and Resources END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Obesity promotes prostate cancer by altering gene regulation

2012-09-25
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men and early treatment is usually very successful. However, like other cancers, obesity increases the risk of aggressive prostate disease. New research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine, finds that the fat surrounding the prostate of overweight or obese men with prostate cancer provides a favorable environment to promote cancer growth. Fat is a generally underrated organ. Not only is it an energy store but it secretes a wide range of growth factors, cytokines and hormones, including leptin ...

Primate study adds to evidence of BPA harming human reproduction

2012-09-25
PULLMAN, Wash.—A Washington State University researcher has found new evidence that the plastic additive BPA can disrupt women's reproductive systems, causing chromosome damage, miscarriages and birth defects. Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, WSU geneticist Patricia Hunt and colleagues at WSU and the University of California, Davis, report seeing reproductive abnormalities in rhesus monkeys with BPA levels similar to those of humans. By using an animal with the most human-like reproductive system, the research bolsters earlier work ...

Life in the extreme

2012-09-25
Life in extreme environments – hot acids and heavy metals, for example – can apparently make very similar organisms deal with stress in very different ways, according to new research from North Carolina State University. One single-celled organism from a hot spring near Mount Vesuvius in Italy fights uranium toxicity directly – by eating the heavy metal and acquiring energy from it. Another single-celled organism that lives on a "smoldering heap" near an abandoned uranium mine in Germany overcomes uranium toxicity indirectly – essentially shutting down its cellular ...

Like prostate cancer, bladder cancer patients may benefit from anti-androgen therapy

2012-09-25
Bladder cancer patients whose tumors express high levels of the protein CD24 have worse prognoses than patients with lower CD24. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that CD24 expression may depend on androgens – and that anti-androgen therapies like those currently used to treat prostate cancer may benefit bladder cancer patients. "This is a major finding – bladder cancer development and spread to other organs depends significantly on CD24, which in turn depends on androgens like testosterone. ...

Scientists reverse Alzheimer's-like memory loss in animal models by blocking EGFR signaling

2012-09-25
Cold Spring Harbor, NY – A team of neuroscientists and chemists from the U.S. and China today publish research suggesting that a class of currently used anti-cancer drugs as well as several previously untested synthetic compounds show effectiveness in reversing memory loss in two animal models of Alzheimer's' disease. CSHL Professor Yi Zhong, Ph.D., who led the research conducted in fruit flies and mice, says he and his colleagues were surprised with their results, which, he stressed, used two independent experimental approaches "the results of which clearly converged." ...

Most biofuels are not 'green'

2012-09-25
This press release is available in German and French. In recent years, the demand for supposedly environmentally friendly biofuels has increased significantly worldwide; on the one hand, this has resulted in the increased cultivation of so-called energy plants and, on the other hand, innovative production methods for the second generation of biofuels have been developed. Parallel to this, ecobalance experts have refined and developed methods for environmental assessment. Since biofuels stem predominantly from agricultural products, the, in part, controversial discussion ...

Prostate cancer diagnosis and surgery can lead to anxiety, depression and reduced quality of life

2012-09-25
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Men who undergo surgical removal of prostate cancer can experience significant levels of anxiety one year after surgery, and higher levels of anxiety appear to be linked to poor sexual satisfaction and depression, say researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida. Their recent study, published in the online edition of Psycho-Oncology, suggests that men who experience high levels of "cancer-specific anxiety" following surgery for prostate cancer could likely benefit from counseling designed to address their worries and improve their quality of life. "The ...

New research shows bees decrease their food intake when given compound found in red wine

New research shows bees decrease their food intake when given compound found in red wine
2012-09-25
TEMPE, Ariz. – The idea that drinking red wine may provide health benefits – or possibly even extend your life — is an appealing thought for many people. Now, there may be added attraction. Researchers have found that when given resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, bees consume less food. Previous scientific studies on resveratrol show that it lengthens the lifespan of diverse organisms ranging from unicellular yeast, to fruit flies and mice. Since bees are social animals like humans, a team of scientists from Arizona State University, the Norwegian University ...

Study finds germ-killing power in the eyes

2012-09-25
Berkeley — When it comes to germ-busting power, the eyes have it, according to a discovery by University of California, Berkeley, researchers that could lead to new, inexpensive antimicrobial drugs. A team of UC Berkeley vision scientists has found that small fragments of keratin protein in the eye play a key role in warding off pathogens. The researchers also put synthetic versions of these keratin fragments to the test against an array of nasty pathogens. These synthetic molecules effectively zapped bacteria that can lead to flesh-eating disease and strep throat (Streptococcus ...

Princeton release: Slow-moving rocks better odds that life crashed to Earth from space

Princeton release: Slow-moving rocks better odds that life crashed to Earth from space
2012-09-25
VIDEO: The researchers explored the likelihood that our solar system exchanged solid matter with its closest planetary-system neighbor during the first hundreds of millions of years it existed. At that time,... Click here for more information. Microorganisms that crashed to Earth embedded in the fragments of distant planets might have been the sprouts of life on this one, according to new research from Princeton University, the University of Arizona and the Centro de Astrobiología ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Two-way water transfers can ensure reliability, save money for urban and agricultural users during drought in Western U.S., new study shows

New issue of advances in dental research explores the role of women in dental, clinical, and translational research

Team unlocks new insights on pulsar signals

Great apes visually track subject-object relationships like humans do

Recovery of testing for heart disease risk factors post-COVID remains patchy

Final data and undiscovered images from NASA’s NEOWISE

Nucleoporin93: A silent protector in vascular health

Can we avert the looming food crisis of climate change?

Alcohol use and antiobesity medication treatment

Study reveals cause of common cancer immunotherapy side effect

New era in amphibian biology

Harbor service, VAST Data provide boost for NCSA systems

New prognostic model enhances survival prediction in liver failure

China focuses on improving air quality via the coordinated control of fine particles and ozone

Machine learning reveals behaviors linked with early Alzheimer’s, points to new treatments

Novel gene therapy trial for sickle cell disease launches

Engineering hypoallergenic cats

Microwave-induced pyrolysis: A promising solution for recycling electric cables

Cooling with light: Exploring optical cooling in semiconductor quantum dots

Breakthrough in clean energy: Scientists pioneer novel heat-to-electricity conversion

Study finds opposing effects of short-term and continuous noise on western bluebird parental care

Quantifying disease impact and overcoming practical treatment barriers for primary progressive aphasia

Sports betting and financial market data show how people misinterpret new information in predictable ways

Long COVID brain fog linked to lung function

Concussions slow brain activity of high school football players

Study details how cancer cells fend off starvation and death from chemotherapy

Transformation of UN SDGs only way forward for sustainable development 

New study reveals genetic drivers of early onset type 2 diabetes in South Asians 

Delay and pay: Tipping point costs quadruple after waiting

Magnetic tornado is stirring up the haze at Jupiter's poles

[Press-News.org] Education, psychological support key for defibrillator patients
American Heart Association scientific statement