The effect of heart failure nurse consultations on heart failure patients' illness beliefs, mood and quality of life over a six-month period.

Aims And Objectives: To explore the effect contact with a heart failure nurse can have on patients' illness beliefs, mood and quality of life.

Background: There is growing interest in patients' illness beliefs and the part they play in a patients understanding of chronic disease.

Design: Secondary analysis on two independent datasets.

Lyme disease and the heart in the UK.

Heart involvement from Lyme disease is uncommon in the UK but, when it does occur, can be rapidly progressive and require intensive therapy. A history of exposure and frequently a characteristic rash (erythema migrans) are the cardinal features in diagnosis.

A modified subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implant in a patient with a previous left ventricular epicardial defibrillation patch.

We describe a case of subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implant in a patient with an existing epicardial defibrillation patch. Potential issues with shock vector shielding were overcome by a modification of the generator implant site and poor sensing were successfully managed by programming a sensing vector which excluded the generator.

Elimination of phrenic nerve stimulation occurring during CRT: follow-up in patients implanted with a novel quadripolar pacing lead.

Background: Phrenic nerve stimulation (PNS) occurs at follow-up in approximately 20% of patients with bipolar leads. The quadripolar Quartet model 1458Q (St. Jude Medical, Sylmar, CA, USA) left ventricular lead (LV) has four electrodes (one distal tip and three ring) capable of ten different pacing vectors which may allow reprogramming to eliminate PNS.

Entitlement to hospital treatment in the UK: qualifiers, challenges and comment.

Entitlement to NHS care is in some cases complex. Regulations include inter-country reciprocal agreements and specific categories of individuals who qualify. This article describes the current, albeit fluid, situation with discussion around some of the more contentious areas.

Mode of death in patients with newly diagnosed heart failure in the general population.

Background: Early prognosis for incident (new) heart failure (HF) patients in the general population is poor. Clinical trials suggest approximately half of chronic HF patients die suddenly but mode of death for incident HF cases in the general population has not been evaluated.

Aims: To describe mode of death in the first six months after a new diagnosis in the general population.

Atrial fibrillation-related cardiomyopathy: a case report.

Sustained chronic tachyarrhythmias often cause a deterioration of cardiac function known as tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy or tachycardiomyopathy.The incidence of tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy is unknown, but in selected studies of patients with atrial fibrillation, approximately 25% to 50% of those with left ventricular dysfunction had some degree of tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy. It is an important clinical entity due to the high incidence and potential reversibility of the disease process.