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A New Single Chamber Implantable Defibrillator with Atrial Sensing: A Practical Demonstration of Sensing and Ease of Implantation
16:40

A New Single Chamber Implantable Defibrillator with Atrial Sensing: A Practical Demonstration of Sensing and Ease of Implantation

Published on: February 28, 2012

Life situation of patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator: a descriptive longitudinal study

I Flemme1, K Bolse, A Ivarsson

  • 1School of Social and Health Sciences, Halmstad University, Sweden. Inger.Flemme@hos.hh.se

Journal of Clinical Nursing
|February 2, 2002
PubMed

Insights

Patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) experienced reduced uncertainty and fear, along with increased life satisfaction over one year. Enhanced patient information and holistic care are recommended post-ICD implantation.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Psychosocial Health
  • Medical Device Research

Background:

  • Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are crucial for managing life-threatening arrhythmias.
  • Understanding the long-term psychosocial impact on patients' lives after ICD implantation is essential for comprehensive care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate changes in the life situation of patients with an ICD over a 1-year period.
  • To assess shifts in illness uncertainty, life satisfaction, and fear related to the life situation post-implantation.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal study involving 56 consecutive patients with an ICD.
  • Utilized descriptive and analytical statistics to track changes in uncertainty, satisfaction, and fear over 12 months.

Main Results:

  • Overall uncertainty decreased significantly, particularly in the information domain (P < 0.001).
  • Patient satisfaction increased across health-functioning, socio-economic, psychological-spiritual, and family domains (P < 0.05 for health-functioning).
  • Fear related to life changes decreased significantly (P < 0.05), indicating improved overall life situation.

Conclusions:

  • Patients with ICDs report improved psychosocial well-being, characterized by lower uncertainty and fear, and higher satisfaction one year post-implantation.
  • There is a clear need for enhanced patient information regarding life changes after ICD implantation.
  • Future research should adopt a more humanistic, holistic approach, and healthcare professionals require improved education in patient-centered communication skills.

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