Design of a Remote Coaching Program to Bridge the Gap From Hospital Discharge to Cardiac Rehabilitation: Intervention Mapping Study.

Background: Remote coaching might be suited for providing information and support to patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) in the vulnerable phase between hospital discharge and the start of cardiac rehabilitation (CR).

Objective: The goal of the research was to explore and summarize information and support needs of patients with CAD and develop an early remote coaching program providing tailored information and support.

Methods: We used the intervention mapping approach to develop a remote coaching program.

Smoking cessation after nurse-coordinated referral to a comprehensive lifestyle programme in patients with coronary artery disease: a substudy of the RESPONSE-2 trial.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics of successful quitters, their use of a smoking cessation programme and the use of other lifestyle interventions to improve lifestyle-related risk factors, within a nurse-coordinated care programme.

Methods: We used data from the multicentre randomised controlled RESPONSE-2 trial ( n=824, The Netherlands). The trial was designed to assess the efficacy of nurse-coordinated referral to a comprehensive set of up to three community-based interventions, based on smoking cessation, healthy food choices and physical activity to improve lifestyle-related risk factors in coronary artery disease patients, compared to usual care.

Effects of a nurse-coordinated prevention programme on health-related quality of life and depression in patients with an acute coronary syndrome: results from the RESPONSE randomised controlled trial.

Background: Improvement of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important goal in preventive cardiology. HRQOL is also related to depressive symptoms, which represent a common co-morbidity and risk factor in patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Comprehensive nurse-coordinated prevention programmes (NCPP) in secondary care have been shown to reduce cardiovascular risk, however their effects on HRQOL and depressive symptoms have not been evaluated.

Nursing students' perceptions of community care and other areas of nursing practice - A review of the literature.

Objectives: To review recent literature on student nurses' perceptions of different areas of nursing practice, in particular community care. Healthcare is changing from care delivery in institutional settings to care to patients in their own homes. Problematic is that nursing students do not see community care as an attractive line of work, and their perceptions of community care do not reflect the realities of the profession.

Effective components of nurse-coordinated care to prevent recurrent coronary events: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Current guidelines on secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease recommend nurse-coordinated care (NCC) as an effective intervention. However, NCC programmes differ widely and the efficacy of NCC components has not been studied. To investigate the efficacy of NCC and its components in secondary prevention of coronary heart disease by means of a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Community-based comprehensive lifestyle programs in patients with coronary artery disease: Objectives, design and expected results of Randomized Evaluation of Secondary Prevention by Outpatient Nurse SpEcialists 2 trial (RESPONSE 2).

Unlabelled: Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) are at high risk of recurrent events. A healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce this risk. A previous trial, Randomized Evaluation of Secondary Prevention by Outpatient Nurse SpEcialists (RESPONSE), demonstrated that nurse-coordinated outpatient clinics improve drug treatment of cardiovascular risk factors.

Evaluating the effect of a web-based quality improvement system with feedback and outreach visits on guideline concordance in the field of cardiac rehabilitation: rationale and study protocol.

Background: Implementation of clinical practice guidelines into daily care is hampered by a variety of barriers related to professional knowledge and collaboration in teams and organizations. To improve guideline concordance by changing the clinical decision-making behavior of professionals, computerized decision support (CDS) has been shown to be one of the most effective instruments. However, to address barriers at the organizational level, additional interventions are needed.

Effect of a nurse-coordinated prevention programme on cardiovascular risk after an acute coronary syndrome: main results of the RESPONSE randomised trial.

Objective: To quantify the impact of a practical, hospital-based nurse-coordinated prevention programme on cardiovascular risk, integrated into the routine clinical care of patients discharged after an acute coronary syndrome, as compared with usual care only.

Design: RESPONSE (Randomised Evaluation of Secondary Prevention by Outpatient Nurse SpEcialists) was a randomised clinical trial.

Setting: Multicentre trial in secondary and tertiary healthcare settings.

Health-related quality of life predicts long-term survival in patients with peripheral artery disease.

We examined whether health-related quality of life (HRQoL) predicts long-term survival in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) independent of established prognostic risk factors. In 2004, data on 711 consecutive patients with PAD undergoing vascular surgery were collected from 11 hospitals in The Netherlands. After 1 year, patients were contacted to complete the EuroQol Questionnaire (EQ-5D), of which 503 complied.

Medication underuse during long-term follow-up in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Background: Patients with peripheral arterial disease constitute a high-risk population. Guideline-recommended medical therapy use is therefore of utmost importance. The aims of our study were to establish the patterns of guideline-recommended medication use in patients with PAD at the time of vascular surgery and after 3 years of follow up, and to evaluate the effect of these therapies on long-term mortality in this patient group.

Patients enrolled in large randomized clinical trials of antiplatelet treatment for prevention after transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke are not representative of patients in clinical practice: the Netherlands Stroke Survey.

Background And Purpose: Many randomized clinical trials have evaluated the benefit of long-term use of antiplatelet drugs in reducing the risk of new vascular events in patients with a recent transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke. Evidence from these trials forms the basis for national and international guidelines for the management of nearly all such patients in clinical practice. However, abundant and strict enrollment criteria may limit the validity and the applicability of results of randomized clinical trials to clinical practice.

Stroke-associated infection is an independent risk factor for poor outcome after acute ischemic stroke: data from the Netherlands Stroke Survey.

Background: Infections are a common and serious threat to patients with acute ischemic stroke. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of infection on mortality and functional outcome at discharge and at 1 year.

Methods: From a consecutive cohort study in 11 centers, the Netherlands Stroke Survey, we selected 521 patients with ischemic stroke admitted to hospital within 48 h of onset.

Reliable assessment of sedation level in routine clinical practice by adding an instruction to the Ramsay Scale.

Objective: The level of sedation in mechanically ventilated patients is most often assessed with the Ramsay Scale. Its reliability, however, has never been evaluated in a large group of professionals using the Ramsay Scale in daily clinical practice, while differences in interpretations among professionals have been indicated. We developed a written stepwise instruction to optimize the inter-observer reliability of the Ramsay Scale within a large group of Intensive Care (IC) nurses.

Clinical validity of a disease-specific health status questionnaire: the peripheral artery questionnaire.

Background: Measuring patient-centered outcomes is becoming increasingly important in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), both as a means of determining the benefits of treatment and as an aid for disease management. In order to monitor health status in a reliable and sensitive way, the disease-specific measure Peripheral Artery Questionnaire (PAQ) was developed. However, to date, its correlation with traditional clinical indices is unknown.

Statin use in the elderly: results from a peripheral vascular survey in The Netherlands.

Background: The prevalence of death due to cardiovascular disease increases steeply in vascular surgery patients with increasing age. Observational data in coronary heart disease and heart failure patients suggest that elderly patients are less optimally treated compared to younger patients. The aim of this study was to examine the differences in clinical characteristics and medical therapy of the elderly compared to younger patients in vascular surgery.

Guidelines for cardiac management in noncardiac surgery are poorly implemented in clinical practice: results from a peripheral vascular survey in the Netherlands.

Background: The American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for Perioperative Cardiovascular Evaluation for Noncardiac Surgery recommend an algorithm for a stepwise approach to preoperative cardiac assessment in vascular surgery patients. The authors' main objective was to determine adherence to the ACC/AHA guidelines on perioperative care in daily clinical practice.

Methods: Between May and December 2004, data on 711 consecutive peripheral vascular surgery patients were collected from 11 hospitals in The Netherlands.

The additional value of patient-reported health status in predicting 1-year mortality after invasive coronary procedures: a report from the Euro Heart Survey on Coronary Revascularisation.

Objective: Self-perceived health status may be helpful in identifying patients at high risk for adverse outcomes. The Euro Heart Survey on Coronary Revascularization (EHS-CR) provided an opportunity to explore whether impaired health status was a predictor of 1-year mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing angiographic procedures.

Methods: Data from the EHS-CR that included 5619 patients from 31 member countries of the European Society of Cardiology were used.

Cardiovascular risk estimation by professionally active cardiovascular nurses: results from the Basel 2005 Nurses Cohort.

Background: Nurses play a key role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and one would, therefore, expect them to have a heightened awareness of the need for systematic screening and their own CVD risk profile. The aim of this study was to examine personal awareness of CVD risk among a cohort of cardiovascular nurses attending a European conference.

Methods: Of the 340 delegates attending the 5th annual Spring Meeting on Cardiovascular Nursing (Basel, Switzerland, 2005), 287 (83%) completed a self-report questionnaire to assess their own risk factors for CVD.