Effectiveness and cost of a transitional care program for heart failure: a prospective study with concurrent controls.

Background: Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of nurse-led transitional care programs to reduce readmission rates for patients with heart failure; the effectiveness of these programs in real-world health care systems is less well understood.

Methods: We performed a prospective study with concurrent controls to test an advanced practice nurse-led transitional care program for patients with heart failure who were 65 years or older and were discharged from Baylor Medical Center Garland (BMCG) from August 24, 2009, through April 30, 2010. We compared the effect of the program on 30-day (from discharge) all-cause readmission rate, length of stay, and 60-day (from admission) direct cost for BMCG with that of other hospitals within the Baylor Health Care System.

Challenging traditional activity limits after coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a simulated lawn-mowing activity.

Purpose: Physician advice and restrictions to patients following a cardiac event can, in some instances, lead patients to be fearful regarding their activities even to the point of inactivity. The purpose of this study was to test whether lawn mowing, one of the activities most strongly discouraged after coronary artery bypass surgery, could be safely performed in a supervised setting.

Method: Subjects participated in a 6-session simulated lawn-mowing protocol, calibrated to match the push and pull forces of using an outdoor nonpropelled lawn mower.

High-intensity interval training for intermittent claudication in a vascular rehabilitation program.

This article reports an observational study investigating the safety and effectiveness of a high-intensity interval exercise program for patients with peripheral arterial disease. Patients were asked to walk on a treadmill to maximal claudication pain six times in each exercise session, with 3-minute rests in between. Once a patient could walk continuously for 6 minutes without reaching maximal pain, speed and/or grade was increased.