Effects of a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program on quality of life and exercise tolerance in women: A retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND: Currently, there are a lack of investigations that have examined the effect of participating in a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program on quality of life and physiological measures in women of different ages. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of participating in a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program on quality of life, exercise tolerance, blood pressure and lipids in women between 33 and 82 years of age. METHODS: The 126 women participated in a 14-week cardiac rehabilitation program that consisted of 7 weeks of formal supervised exercise training and 7 weeks of unsupervised exercise and lifestyle modification. Physiologic and quality of life outcome measures obtained at the outset and after 14 weeks included: 1) exercise treadmill time; 2) resting and peak systolic and diastolic blood pressure; 3) total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and Triglycerides; 4) Cardiac Quality of Life Index questionnaire. RESULTS: Significant improvements were found in the following quality of life measures after participating in the cardiac rehabilitation program: physical well being, psychosocial, worry, nutrition and symptoms. No significant differences were seen for any QOL variable between the different age groups. Significant improvements were seen in exercise tolerance (+21%) and high density lipoprotein (+5%). CONCLUSION: Cardiac rehabilitation may play an important role in improving quality of life, exercise tolerance and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in younger and older women with underlying cardiovascular disease

"Sneaky disease": the body and health knowledge for people at risk for coronary heart disease in Ontario, Canada

The contribution of modifiable risk factors to the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) has been well documented in the literature. A focus group component of a cardiovascular risk reduction project, The Community Outreach in Heart Health and Risk Reduction Trial was designed to explore issues that facilitate or constrain individual efforts to implement changes to health behaviours. Eight focus groups were conducted in urban, northern and rural sites in Ontario, Canada. In this article, we elaborate on the difficulties all group members experienced as they attempted to interpret their personal candidacy for CHD. For many participants, CHD was an undetectable or "sneaky disease" in its earlier stages, thus coronary risk was to them an abstract concept that could not ordinarily be detected through sensory perception. Participants drew on three possible strategies to determine their candidacy for CHD: they cognitively engaged in weighing risks, they relied on the interpretive powers of medical hermeneutics, or they waited for "the big event". The findings suggest that lay understandings of the body and health differ from those of health professionals and educators, and that lay understandings differ according to SES and gender. This has implications for health literacy and must be considered in devising strategies for health education.Coronary heart disease Health behaviour Health knowledge Risk Canada

Physical activity behaviour, motivational readiness and self-efficacy among Ontarians with cardiovascular disease and diabetes

This cross-sectional study examined physical activity and its correlates among 355 diabetes, 144 cardiovascular disease, 75 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and 390 residents with cardiovascular risk factors. Community residents (N= 2566) were screened by telephone, and 964 participants completed a self-report survey. Non-diabetes participants participated in a greater range of physical activities (p < .001), more frequently (p = .013). Diabetes participants had lower physical activity readiness and efficacy (ps < .009). In a regression model (p < .001), region and disease, work, marital and smoking status were significant correlates of physical activity frequency. Interventions which increase motivational readiness and efficacy among diabetics are required to prevent and delay complications, particularly in regions with environmental barriers such as cold weather and homogeneous, low-density land use.This research was funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation. S. Grace is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.This research was funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation. S. Grace is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

Qualidade de vida em pacientes coronariopatas

Este estudo comparou as medidas de qualidade de vida (QV) entre 49 sujeitos com infarto do miocárdio (IM) e 27 com angina pectoris (AP), atendidos em ambulatório em um hospital universitário. Os dados foram obtidos por meio da aplicação de um questionário para levantamento de dados sociodemográficos e clínicos e do instrumento SF-36 para avaliação da QV. Constatou-se, em ambos os grupos, comprometimento da QV nas dimensões: aspectos físicos, dor, estado geral de saúde, vitalidade, aspectos sociais e saúde mental. Variáveis sociodemográficas e clínicas foram associadas com menores escores de QV em diferentes dimensões. Estudos futuros devem ser conduzidos, visando a ampliação do tamanho da amostra, e a compreensão da magnitude do efeito destas variáveis sobre a QV do coronariopata

Antibiotic Activity of Iron-Sequestering Polymers

© 2015 American Chemical Society. Increasing antibiotic resistance has compelled the development of novel antibiotics and adjuvant therapies that enhance the efficacy of existing antibiotics. Iron plays a critical role in bacterial infections, yet the use of iron chelators as adjuvant therapy with antibiotics has yielded highly variable outcomes. Multivalent polymeric materials offer an alternative approach to bind and sequester iron via high avidity interactions. Here, a biomimetic iron-sequestering polymer (PAI-DHBA) was synthesized by modifying side chains of cross-linked polyallylamine (cPAI) with 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHBA). PAI-DHBA polymer gels with various DHBA contents showed high iron affinity indices and high selectivity for iron. The polymers showed mild antibiotic properties when used to treat established bacterial cultures. Pretreating culture media with PAI-DHBA polymer, however, removed all detectable iron from media and effectively inhibited the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, bacterial growth was more susceptible to antibiotics combined with PAI-DHBA. Multivalent polymers that bind and sequester iron, such as PAI-DHBA, offer a promising early intervention or adjuvant to antibiotics