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Aims To evaluate a self-administered digital education resource for patients after a heart attack (adapted simplified Chinese version of Cardiac College™) on secondary prevention knowledge and health behaviour change outcomes. Methods and results Chinese immigrants recovering from a heart attack were recruited from cardiac rehabilitation programmes at four metropolitan tertiary hospitals. Participants provided access to Cardiac College™ (adapted simplified Chinese version), a self-learning secondary prevention virtual education resource over 4 weeks. The web-based resources include 9 booklets and 10 pre-recorded video education sessions. Assessments included health literacy, secondary prevention knowledge, self-management behaviours, self-reported physical activity, and a heart-healthy diet. Satisfaction, acceptability, and engagement were also assessed. From 81 patients screened, 67 were recruited, and 64 (95.5%) completed the study. The participants' mean age was 67.2 ± 8.1 years old, 81.2% were males, and the majority had no English proficiency (65.6%). Following the intervention, significant improvements were observed for secondary prevention knowledge overall and in all subdomains, with the most improvement occurring in medical, exercise, and psychological domains (P < 0.001). Dietary and self-management behaviours also improved significantly (P < 0.05). According to participants, the educational materials were engaging (100%), and the content was adequate (68.8%); however, 26.6% found the information overwhelming. Overall, 46.9% were highly satisfied with the resources. Conclusion A self-learning virtual patient-education package improved secondary prevention knowledge and self-care behaviour in Chinese immigrants after a heart attack. The culturally adapted version of Cardiac College™ offers an alternative education model where bilingual staff or translated resources are limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Sexual activity and intimacy improve quality of life for heart attack survivors. After a heart attack, patients frequently experience sexual dysfunction and anxiety about resuming sexual activity. However, most health professionals do not discuss sex or intimacy with their patients. The aim of this research was to explore the perceptions and practices of Australian health professionals in discussing sexual activity and intimacy with heart attack survivors and the barriers to achieving this. Methods and results This study employed a cross-sectional study design and online self-administered survey questionnaire. Study participants were a convenience sample of Australian health professionals working with cardiac patients, including general practitioners, cardiologists, cardiac rehabilitation specialists, registered nurses, and allied health professionals. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations to understand the different perspectives of health professional groups and the overall sample. Of 252 respondents, almost all believed discussing sex and intimacy with heart attack survivors was important, yet less than a quarter reported regularly doing so. About three-quarters reported feeling comfortable discussing sex and intimacy with either men or women, with half comfortable to do so with patients from diverse cultures. Barriers included lack of time, privacy, consumer resources, and protocols to guide discussions. Conclusion This research supports the need for structural changes such as a clinical protocol, longer and more private consultations, staff training, and culturally appropriate patient-oriented resources to support health professionals to guide discussions about sexual activity and intimacy with patients who have had a heart attack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine the reliability of hospital discharge codes for heart failure (HF), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke compared with adjudicated diagnosis, and to pilot a scalable approach to adjudicate records on a population‐based sample. Methods: A population‐based sample of 685 people with diabetes admitted (1274 admissions) to one of three Australian hospitals during 2018–2020 were randomly selected for this study. All medical records were reviewed and adjudicated. Results: Cardiovascular diseases were the most common primary reason for hospitalisation in people with diabetes, accounting for ~17% (215/1274) of all hospitalisations, with HF as the leading cause. ICD‐10 codes substantially underestimated HF prevalence and had the lowest agreement with the adjudicated diagnosis of HF (Kappa = 0.81), compared with AMI and stroke (Kappa ≥ 0.91). While ICD‐10 codes provided suboptimal sensitivity (72%) for HF, the performance was better for AMI (sensitivity 84%; specificity 100%) and stroke (sensitivity 85%; specificity 100%). A novel approach to screen possible HF cases only required adjudicating 8% (105/1274) of records, correctly identified 78/81 of HF admissions and yielded 96% sensitivity and 98% specificity. Conclusions: While ICD‐10 codes appear reliable for AMI or stroke, a more complex diagnosis such as HF benefits from a two‐stage process to screen for suspected HF cases that need adjudicating. The next step is to validate this novel approach on large multi‐centre studies in diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Atrial fibrillation (AF) and flutter are common causes of hospitalizations but contemporary long-term outcomes following these episodes are uncertain. This study assessed outcomes up to 10 years after an acute AF or flutter hospitalization. Methods Patients hospitalized acutely with a primary diagnosis of AF or flutter from 2008–17 from all public and most private hospitals in Australia and New Zealand were included. Kaplan–Meier methods and flexible parametric survival modelling were used to estimate survival and loss in life expectancy, respectively. Competing risk model accounting for death was used when estimating incidence of non-fatal outcomes. Results A total of 260 492 adults (mean age 70.5 ± 14.4 years, 49.6% female) were followed up for 1 068 009 person-years (PY), during which 69 167 died (incidence rate 6.5/100 PY) with 91.2% survival at 1 year, 72.7% at 5 years, and 55.2% at 10 years. Estimated loss in life expectancy was 2.6 years, or 16.8% of expected life expectancy. Re-hospitalizations for heart failure (2.9/100 PY), stroke (1.7/100 PY), and myocardial infarction (1.1/100 PY) were common with respective cumulative incidences of 16.8%, 11.0%, and 7.1% by 10 years. Re-hospitalization for AF or flutter occurred in 21.3% by 1 year, 35.3% by 5 years, and 41.2% by 10 years (11.6/100 PY). The cumulative incidence of patients undergoing catheter ablation of AF was 6.5% at 10 years (1.2/100 PY). Conclusions Patients hospitalized for AF or flutter had high death rates with an average 2.6-year loss in life expectancy. Moreover, re-hospitalizations for AF or flutter and related outcomes such as heart failure and stroke were common with catheter ablation used infrequently for treatment, which warrant further actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural Australians with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) face higher mortality rates due to limited access to specialised cardiac services. Paramedic-administered prehospital thrombolysis (PHT) has emerged as an alternative to primary percutaneous intervention (pPCI) for patients facing barriers or delays to cardiac care. There is variability in PHT practices among Australian ambulance services, lacking standardised definitions and outcome measures. The aim of this scoping review was to identify quality indicators and influencing factors associated with outcomes for patients receiving PHT. A systematic search of literature in SCOPUS and Academic Search Complete, CINAHL and Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition databases via EBSCO (Health) was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. Peer-reviewed studies from the past decade were screened using search criteria relevant to prehospital thrombolysis and quality indicators. Data extraction was performed and themed using five domains from the Utstein-style template commonly known for standardised prehospital cardiac arrest reporting. After removing duplicates, the search yielded 3596 articles with 28 empirical studies meeting inclusion criteria for the review. These were primarily retrospective cohort studies performed in Australia, Canada and the United States. The scoping review identified 24 clinical quality indicators and factors related to Emergency Medical Service (EMS) systems, AMI recognition and ambulance dispatch, patient variables, PHT processes and patient outcomes. These findings correlate to the Donabedian structure-process-outcome quality of care model and have utility to inform future PHT reporting guidelines for jurisdictional ambulance services. Given the variability in prehospital practice across Australian ambulance services, standardised reporting on quality indicators for PHT is needed. The Utstein-style template used to report data on pre-hospital cardiac arrest, trauma and airway management could be used for quality improvement in PHT. This review presents 24 quality indicators representing system, recognition and response, patient, process, and outcomes related to PHT. These results could be used to inform a future Delphi study and Utstein-like reporting guideline for prehospital thrombolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an under-recognized cause of myocardial infarction. We aimed to investigate SCAD survivors' perceptions of their quality-of-care and its relationship to quality-of-life. Methods and results An anonymous survey was distributed online to SCAD survivors involved in Australian SCAD support groups, with 172 (95.3% female, mean age 52.6 ± 9.2 years) participants in the study. The survey involved assessment of quality-of-life using a standardized questionnaire (EQ-5DTM-3L). Respondents rated the quality-of-care received during their hospital admission for SCAD with a median of 8/10 [interquartile range (IQR) 7–10]. Respondents ≤ 50 years vs. >50 years were more likely to perceive that their symptoms were not treated seriously as a myocardial infarction (χ2 = 4.127, df = 1, P < 0.05). Participants rated clinician's knowledge of SCAD with a median of 4/10 (IQR 2–8) and 7/10 (IQR 3–9) for Emergency and Cardiology clinicians, respectively (P < 0.05). The internet was the most selected source (45.4%) of useful SCAD information. The mean EQ-5DTM summary index was 0.79 (population norm 0.87). A total of 47.2% of respondents reported a mental health condition diagnosis, with 36% of these diagnosed after their admission with SCAD. Quality-of-life was significantly associated with perceived quality-of-care: EQ-5DTM index/(1-EQ-5DTM index) increased by 13% for each unit increase in quality-of-care after adjusting for age and comorbidities (P < 0.001). Conclusion While SCAD survivors rated their overall hospital care highly, healthcare providers' knowledge of SCAD was perceived to be poor, and the most common source of SCAD information was the internet. Mental health conditions were common, and a significant association was observed between perceived quality-of-care and SCAD survivors' quality-of-life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sexual activity and intimacy contribute to wellbeing throughout adult life, including after a heart attack. Providing support and information about sexual activity and intimacy after a heart attack is recognised as part of a comprehensive approach to cardiac rehabilitation. Previous research shows that patients expect health professionals to initiate discussions about sexual activity and intimacy, but that this seldom occurs. Methods: Drawing on qualitative survey responses from a range of Australian health professionals working in cardiac care and rehabilitation, this research examined their perspectives on discussing sexual activity and intimacy with their patients, and patients' partners. Using a social constructionist approach, thematic analysis was used to identify themes expressed by participants. Results: Discussions about sexual activity and intimacy after heart attack were perceived as nebulous and taboo. The predominance of an illness – rather than wellness – framing of these discussions and a tendency for health professionals to make judgement calls contributed to discussions not occurring. Health professionals also identified a range of intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural obstacles to discussions, including embarrassment, fear of patients' embarrassment, a lack of role clarity, the absence of a clear protocol or training to guide practice, and a lack of time, privacy and patient resources. Conclusions: Such discussions require normalisation, careful timing, sufficient time and adequate privacy. Staff training, a protocol and appropriate patient resources are needed to support health professionals to initiate discussions. Further research is required that investigates the impact of specific resources and training on health professionals' practice and patient outcomes. Heart attack survivors expect that health professionals will communicate with them about sexual activity and intimacy, but previous research shows that this rarely occurs. This research qualitatively examines the perspectives of a range of health professionals working in cardiac care about barriers to discussing sexual activity and intimacy with patients. Discussions about sex and intimacy were perceived as nebulous and taboo topics; themes identified lead to recommendations for developing and implementing resources, training, and a clinical protocol to improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the need for improved communication about sexual activity and intimacy between healthcare professionals and heart attack survivors, emphasizing the barriers and proposing solutions to enhance patient care in this aspect.

The article focuses on the effectiveness of culturally sensitive care in improving health outcomes for Chinese immigrants undergoing cardiac rehabilitation, including the importance of culturally competent care in reducing health disparities.