An Impromptu Code Team on the Rugby Pitch

Eighteen months ago, I wrote about my experiences being a COVID-19 ICU nurse during the height of the pandemic, while also training as a member of the USA Rugby Women’s National Team. I focused on the connection between nursing and rugby by discussing the importance of the backline of defense in both the hospital setting and on the pitch.

Much of what I wrote there was driven home for me in a new way one day last fall at a local rugby field in New Jersey. It was a beautiful fall day and I was spending my last weekend home watching my brother’s playoff game before I would be heading to Colorado for a set of international rugby games with Team USA.

Credit: KJ Feury.

It was a typical men’s club division 2 playoff game, where the score was back and forth, and big plays were being created by both teams. It was nearing the end of the game when the away team had a scrum in their half of the field. Their #12, a player who had been making big hits and runs all game, made the decision to kick the ball out of their half to relieve pressure and reset play.

After […]

2022-02-15T08:54:27-05:00February 15th, 2022|Nursing|0 Comments
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Marijuana Linked to Elevated Heart Attack Risk in Young Adults

Photo © Shuttertock.

Association is stronger when marijuana use is frequent.

As the decriminalization of marijuana becomes more widespread, its use is on the rise among young adults. Yet, the effects on overall health have not been well studied, including how marijuana use affects cardiovascular health.

Now a large-scale study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has found an association between recent marijuana use and increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in young people, ages 18 to 44 years. The association was strongest among those who used marijuana at least four times a month, primarily by smoking it. Users who vaped or ingested marijuana through baked goods or other edibles also had a higher incidence of MI compared with nonusers, but only those who smoked frequently showed elevated risk that was statistically significant.

The study was based on 2017 and 2018 behavioral risk survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It sought to evaluate known evidence of cardiovascular effects of marijuana in the context of MI risk for individual users. Marijuana’s chemical components can increase myocardial oxygen demand while simultaneously reducing blood flow to the myocardium. This cannabis-induced oxygen supply and demand mismatch, in the setting of myocardial […]

2021-12-07T11:34:08-05:00December 7th, 2021|Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
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American Heart Month: Education, Awareness Crucial to Fight Heart Disease

beating heart still © American Heart Association

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed the first ever American Heart Month: “It is essential to the health and well-being of our nation that our citizens be made aware of the medical, social, and economic aspects of the problem of cardiovascular diseases, and the measures being taken to combat them.” Cardiovascular diseases has to be treated every day by doing exercise, there´s plenty of exercises you can do to better your health, one of the best ones I know is boxing but there is Some things you’ll need for boxing before you even start practicing.

The tradition has continued every February since then, and the need to raise awareness about cardiovascular health remains urgent: heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 610,000 Americans die of heart disease each year.

Women may be particularly at risk, both because the warning signs of heart disease can be different for women than for men and because of common misconceptions about heart disease risk, such as the idea that heart disease only affects men or older adults. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) kills one in three American women—but the American Heart Association (AHA) says 80% of those deaths could […]

2018-02-06T10:21:39-05:00February 11th, 2016|Nursing, Patients|1 Comment
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Unanticipated Codes

By Marcy Phipps, RN, a regular contributor to this blog. Her essay, “The Love Song of Frank,” was published in the May (2012) issue of AJN. She currently has an essay appearing in The Examined Life Journal.

Code cart/courtesy of author Code cart/courtesy of author

My mentor once told me that there are almost never unanticipated cardiac arrests in the ICU. I’ve found this to be true. Certain indicators, like laboratory abnormalities or particular cardiac rhythms, can foretell a Code, and sometimes subtle signs trigger an instinctual foreboding that I’ve learned never to ignore.

The conviction that a Code Blue can be anticipated provides a sense of security; if the arrest is anticipated, then it may be preventable. And when it’s inevitable, at least anticipation allows for preparation. I strongly believe this. And yet this weekend my patient coded and I was caught completely off guard.

I had just remarked to one of my colleagues that my petite, elderly Chinese patient (some identifying details have been changed) was looking so much better than she had when I’d admitted her earlier that day from the floor—she’d been in respiratory distress, in a hypertensive crisis, and in need of immediate dialysis. All of the various specialty consultants had seen her and collaborated and I’d had the thought that Ms. M’s day would end very well, that it would be one of those nursing shifts where I’d see a metamorphosis […]

2016-11-21T13:08:15-05:00February 20th, 2013|nursing perspective|5 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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