Living with recurrent ventricular dysrhythmias

The number of patients who live with recurrent ventricular dysrhythmias is increasing as medical advances such as pharmacologic and electrical therapies decrease mortality rates in this population. As a result, nurses frequently encounter patients who are trying to learn to live with chronic aspects of recurrent life-threatening dysrhythmias. The findings of this study provide an important beginning description of strategies used by patients to address their concerns. The RVD patients in this study reported using a variety of strategies to manage their physiologic and psychosocial concerns. Their responses described a continuum of strategies to handle concerns that ranged from "compensate for the concern" to "unable to handle the concern." These findings suggest several implications for nursing. Careful assessment of all patients with RVD is appropriate to detect areas where patients perceive a need for additional strategies to manage their concerns, require support for existing self-reliance strategies, and need identification of additional nursing interventions. Individualized or group programs may be appropriate interventions to assist some patients. Strategies to support patients who report an inability to manage specific concerns need clarification. Ideally, as further research defines the processes patients with RVD use to manage their concerns, high-risk patients can be discovered and provided with interventions to promote their adjustment to living with life-threatening dysrhythmias.