“If nurses understand the purpose of cardiac devices and the care of patients receiving them, they will be better equipped to teach patients to be confident in their own self-care.”

When I was an RN in the cardiac electrophysiology lab, we frequently performed device implants or procedures for patients with heart failure. When giving report to the telemetry nurses, I often felt I didn’t have enough time to fully explain the background for the procedures we performed.

In my CE feature article in AJN‘s June issue, “Guideline-Directed Cardiac Devices for Patients with Heart Failure,” I share an exemplar of a patient who had one of these procedures—an implanted cardioverter/defibrillator with cardiac resynchronization therapy. If nurses understand the purpose of cardiac devices and the care of patients receiving them, they will be better equipped to teach patients to be confident in their own self-care.

It is challenging to keep up with the advances in health care devices. In the article, I also describe some other recent cardiac technologies. Patients with any these devices may be seen in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings, and nurses may benefit from a general understanding of their purpose and patient care.

Always more to learn.

One of the technologies mentioned in the article is baroreflex activation therapy. I recently went to a heart failure conference where I learned that the stimulation function of that device may cause artifact in a 12-lead ECG tracing. When performing a 12-lead on a patient with a baroreflex stimulation device, a doughnut magnet should be used to temporarily inhibit the output and record a clear tracing. I’ve since confirmed that important information in the product reference guide and wish I’d included it in the article!

As technologies develop, we are always learning!

Mary Ann Leavitt, PhD, RN, CCRN-K, CHFN, is an assistant professor at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton. Her article is currently free to read and offers CE credit as well.