Perceived learning needs among coronary artery disease patients: a study in a tertiary hospital

Introduction: Determination of learning needs is central for holistic patient education, to sustain behavior changes and to control patient’s risk factor. However, patients often sense that their learning needs are unmet and information provided was too general. Thus, this study aimed to determine the perceived learning needs and their level of importance among Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) patients. Methods: The current investigation is a descriptive, cross-sectional study for which all CAD patients were selected using the cencus method. The data was collected using Cardiac Patients Learning Needs Inventory. The questionnaire was delivered to 140 CAD patients who had their follow-up in a cardiology clinic. The instrument is reliable with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.96. The study design followed STROBE cross-sectional design process guideline. Results: Participants’ mean age was 58.96 ± 9.42 years. More than half of the participants were males (62.9%), employed (52.0%) and had attained secondary level education (69.3%). Around two-thirds (60.7%) of the patients perceived to have high learning needs. Gender and highest educational achievement were significantly associated with perceived learning needs. The most significant perceived learning needs were medication information, risk factors for CAD, information on diet, physical activity, anatomy and physiology, and other related information. Conclusion: This study has identified the important domains of learning needs among CAD patients. Findings from the present study will provide important input for future cardiac educational strategies to reduce the rate of hospital readmission and death

Health consequences during pandemic: a review

COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes in daily life. The pandemic has affected all populations in the world and lead to WHO calling for the global action to minimize the spread of this infection. Social distancing, work from home and movement control order are some of the strategies implemented to mitigate this infectious outbreak. Health consequences on non-communicable disease, mental health, social crisis among schoolchildren and burnout among healthcare providers have been affected during the pandemic. This review will provide a brief explanation on these health consequences of COVID-19 to the population. Future strategies that can be implemented during pandemic will also be discussed in the review

Antioxidant assay of Alstonia angustifolia ethanolic leaf extract

In current study, the ability of the ethanolic extract of Alstonia angustifolia in scavenging free radicals was assessed by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) radical scavenging assay. The results suggested that the ethanolic extract of A. angustifolia leaves has a notable antioxidant activity. In FRAP assay, it showed that the extract have higher total antioxidant activity with FRAP value is 1868.33 μM/g Fe (ii) dry mass ± 0.15 than the control, quercetin with FRAP value is 1336.9 μM/g Fe (II) dry mass ± 0.12 and ascorbic acid with FRAP value is 1720 μM/g Fe (II) dry mass ± 0.02. For DPPH assay, the IC50 value of the extract is 384.77 while the IC50 value of standards of ascorbic acid and quercetin are 18.07 μg/ml and 39.60 μg/ml, respectively. For H2O2 scavenging assay, the IC50 value for the extract was discovered to be 186.77 μg/ml compared to standard ascorbic acid 466.56 μg/ml. Thus, the study suggests that A. angustifolia ethanolic leaf extract has a good origin of natural antioxidants and might be beneficial in impeding the oxidative stress progression thus averting diseases that related to free radicals

Isolated Diastolic Hypertension and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease : Controversies in Hypertension - Pro Side of the Argument.

Isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH), defined as diastolic blood pressure in the hypertensive range but systolic blood pressure not in the hypertensive range, is not uncommon (<20%) among adults with hypertension. IDH often manifests in concurrence with other cardiovascular risk factors. Individuals with IDH tend to have lower awareness of their hypertension compared with those with both systolic and diastolic hypertension. IDH appears to be a largely underrated risk factor for cardiovascular disease events, which may be explained by inconsistent association of IDH with cardiovascular disease events. The inconsistency suggests that IDH is heterogeneous. One size does not seem to fit all in the clinical management of individuals with IDH. Rather than treating IDH as a monolithic low-risk condition, detailed phenotyping in the context of individual comprehensive cardiovascular risk would seem to be most useful to assess an individual\u27s expected net benefit from therapy. In this review, we highlight that the clinical relevance of IDH differs by individual clinical characteristics, and elucidate groups of individuals with IDH that should be wary of cardiovascular disease risks