Coronary intensive care units are units established to monitor and treat patients with acute myocardial infarction in terms of arrhythmia. Today, however; these units do not only aim to monitor patients with acute myocardial infarction but rather serve as units where care is provided for dynamic and various diseases. With the wide variety of patients in coronary intensive care units, the risk of sedation complications and critical complications, pressure sores, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and other infections is high. In this context, healthcare-associated infections are the most common types of infections. One of the most important points is that these infections, which cause high health costs, morbidity, mortality and loss of workforce, are preventable. In this review, infections that can be encountered in coronary intensive care units, what should be known about their control and interventions to be applied are included.

Objective: This study aims to reveal the experiences of patients who underwent left ventricular support device implantation regarding living with this device.

Methods: A total of 10 patients over the age of 18, who underwent left ventricular support device implantation at a university hospital and were discharged at least 1 month after implantation, were included in the qualitative, phenomenological study. As data collection tools, personal information forms and interview forms prepared by the researchers were used. The data for this study have been collected through in-depth interviews. The interviews were recorded with a voice recorder and transcribed exactly, and the inductive content analysis method was used.

Results: As a result of the analysis of the data, 5 main themes were formed. These themes are “Living with LVAD,” “Positive Effects of LVAD on Life,” “Challenges of Living with LVAD,” “Services/Supports Received by LVAD Patients,” and “Recommendations.”

Conclusion: As a result, in our study, patients with left ventricular support devices adapted to life with the device and their quality of life increased with the device. While continuing their daily lives, they encountered some difficulties related to taking a bath, carrying the device, changing the battery, and dressing.

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the factors affecting the participation of cardiac patients in the cardiac rehabilitation program.

Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 419 patients who were admitted to the cardiology outpatient clinic and hospitalized in the cardiology inpatient clinic. Research data were collected through face-to-face interviews with the Patient Information Form, the Cardiac Rehabilitation Barriers Scale.

Results: The mean Cardiac Rehabilitation Barriers Scale total score of the patients was 63.54 ± 8.53, extrinsic factors in patients' access subdimension mean score was 19.42 ± 3.36, problems with cardiac rehabilitation information subdimension mean score was 15.48 ± 2.9, logistical problems subdimension mean score was 11.16 ± 2.91, perceived cardiac rehabilitation need subdimension score average was 14.79 ± 2.8, and mean score of other health problems subdimension was found to be 2.7 ± 1.22. Having a family history of heart disease has a negative effect on CRES; It has been determined that those with a history of hospitalization, those who receive support in daily life, those who are illiterate, and those who are retired have a positive and significant effect on Cardiac Rehabilitation Barriers Scale.

Conclusion: The patients' perception of cardiac rehabilitation barriers was found to be moderate. Transportation problems and the belief that cardiac rehabilitation is not necessary prevented participation in cardiac rehabilitation. While having heart disease in the family positively affects participation in cardiac rehabilitation, low education level, addiction status, and hospitalization history negatively affect it.

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the psychological resilience levels and related factors of coronary heart patients.

Methods: The descriptive study was conducted on 129 patients in the cardiology clinics of a state hospital in Istanbul. Data were collected by means of the Individual Characteristics Form, Disease Characteristics Form, and the Brief Psychological Resilience Scale. Kolmogorov– Smirnov test was used to determine the normality distribution of the data. T-test, analysis of variance, and Scheffe test were used for the evaluation of the data. The statistical significance
level was determined as P <.05.

Results: The resilience levels of the participants were moderate (x¯: 15.47 ± 5.20), and the resilience levels of men (x¯ = 16.40) were found to be higher than women (x¯ = 12.66) (P =.001). The level of psychological resilience of the “illiterate” group with educational status was found to be lower than the group with “primary education, high school, university, and higher” educational status (P =.016). The psychological resilience levels of the group not participating in cardiac rehabilitation programs were found to be higher than the participating group (P =.007). The psychological resilience levels of the group without a previous history of heart attack were found to be higher than the group with a history of heart attack (P =.035). The psychological resilience level of the group with “never” angina (chest pain) frequency was found to be higher than the group with angina frequency “once a day and once a week” (P =.024).

Conclusion: Psychological resilience has an important place in coronary heart patients in terms of disease prognosis and course of treatment. Therefore, in the early stages, it isrecommended that women, illiterate people, and groups with a history of heart attack and angina should be given interventions to protect and improve their psychological resilience levels.

Objective: This study was planned to evaluate the psychosocial adjustment of the patients with heart failure.

Methods: The data of the cross-sectional descriptive study were collected by Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self Report. In the evaluation of data in the Statistical Package
for Social Sciences software version 19.0 program, percentage, mean, Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal-Walis H test, and Spearman Rho Correlation Coefficient were used. The value of P <,05 was accepted statistically significant.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 66,21 ± 9,19. Psychosocial adjustment of female patients according to male patients, literate and primary school graduates, middle school
and above graduates, village living patients compared to patients living in the province, heart failure class NYHA III patients compared to NYHA I patients, inpatient patients compared to outpatients were determined to be worse (P <,05). While the psychosocial adjustment of married patients was poor in sexual relations, it was found that the patients whose marital status was single-widowed had worse adaptation to the family and social environment. It was determined that psychosocial adjustment deteriorated with age, number of children, duration of diagnosis, heart failure (NYHA) classification and hospitalization of patients with heart failure (P <,05).

Conclusion: The psychosocial adjustment of the patients with heart failure was moderate. In conclusion, in order to increase psychosocial adaptation to the disease in patients with
heart failure, personal (advanced age, etc.) and disease (NYHA stage, etc.). factors in the planning and implementation of nursing care, believed increase psychosocial adaptation to
the in patients with heart failure.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the incidence of phlebitis in patients undergoing amiodarone treatment by changing the infusion site and affecting factors in the coronary intensive care unit.

Methods: A total of 30 patients who received similar doses of amiodarone treatment for 12 months in the coronary intensive care unit were examined. The catheter, duration, catheter diameter (20-22 G) of amiodarone therapy, etc., factors, and factors related to phlebitis formation were examined. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.

Results: In the study, 60 catheters undergoing amiodarone therapy applied to 30 patients were examined. It was observed that phlebitis developed in 9 (30%) out of 30 patients and 10 (16.6%) out of 60 catheters. More occurrences of phlebitis were detected in cases using a 22-G catheter (P <.05). Phlebitis occurred more commonly in women (37.5%) and catheters were attached to the intra-elbow area (50%). However, the development of phlebitis with these variables was not statistically different (P >.05).

Conclusion: In the present study, phlebitis developed in 30% of the patients. Therefore, it is recommended to change the infusion site after 12 hours of amiodarone infusion, and if possible, to apply with a central venous catheter.

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between symptom status and health-related quality of life in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Methods: This was a descriptive study, and 31 outpatient pulmonary arterial hypertension patients were enrolled. The “Data Gathering Form,” the “Symptom Status Questionnaire-Heart Failure,” and the “Short-Form Health Survey” were used to collect research data.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 47.4 ± 15.3 years and 51.6% of them were female. The majority of the patients were in World Health Organization functional class II and not working (80.6%). The most common symptoms experienced by the patients were “fatigue or lack of energy” (96.8%) and “shortness of breath during the daytime” (80.6%). The mean total Symptom Status Questionnaire-Heart Failure score was significantly lower in the working group compared to the non-working group (P <.001). Except for the “general health” and “social functioning” of the SF-36 sub-dimensions, there were significant differences between the high and low Symptom Status Questionnaire-Heart Failure groups in all other sub-dimensions (P <.05). There was a weak negative correlation between the “general health” sub-dimension of Short-Form Health Survey and Symptom Status Questionnaire- Heart Failure. All other sub-dimensions of Short-Form Health Survey had moderate negative correlations with Symptom Status Questionnaire-Heart Failure.

Conclusion: It was found that there was a negative correlation between the symptom status of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and health-related quality of life regular evaluation of patients’ symptom status, and health-related quality of life is recommended to provide comprehensive care and improve long-term quality of life.

In heart failure, the control and management of the disease are a difficult and also a complex process due to the characteristics of physical and psychosocial problems it causes and the intensity of the disease. In heart failure care, the use of nursing process is important. If this process is synthesized with theories and models, patient needs can be determined more systematically. In her interaction theory, Ida Jean Orlando, who is known as one of the leading theoreticians concerning the nursing process, attracted attention to the importance of mutual communication between the patient and nurse and indicated that mutual communication between the patient and nurse forms the basis of nursing practices. In this case
report, the nursing process of a patient with heart failure was prepared in line with Ida Jean Orlando’s interaction theory, his/her needs were determined, and the nursing interventions were planned and applied. The distress of the patient whose need for care was met significantly
decreased, and there were changes in his/her verbal and non-verbal behaviors in a positive direction and increase in his/her adaptation to disease management. In conclusion, it is possible to state that using Orlando’s interaction theory in the application of the nursing process is advantageous and efficient, and the theory is appropriate for use in patients with heart failure.