Background: Research suggests that people with intellectual disabilities have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease than the general population. The aim of this study was to identify barriers for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular disease for people with intellectual disabilities. Method: We conducted individual…

We assessed the effects of the patient education strategy 'Learning and Coping' (LC) in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on mortality and readmissions by exploring results from the LC-REHAB trial. In all, 825 patients with ischaemic heart disease or heart failure were randomized to the intervention arm (LC-CR) or the control arm (standard CR) at three…

Cardiovascular diseases are an emerging cause of morbidity and mortality in India. India produces less than 150 cardiologists annually, leading to a gap between the need and availability of trained professionals. A three-year cardiology-training programme is available for post-graduate doctors in the conventional medical education system. The…

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is most often provided in a hospital setting. Home-based models of care have been developed to overcome geographic, among other, barriers in patients at a lower risk. This study assessed whether clinical and geographic factors were related to the use of either a hospital-based or a home-based program. Secondary analysis…

The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) measures anxiety and depressive symptoms and is widely used in clinical and nonclinical populations. However, there is some debate about the number of dimensions represented by the HADS. In a sample of 534 Dutch cardiac patients, this study examined (a) the dimensionality of the HADS using Mokken…

Propensity score methods allow investigators to estimate causal treatment effects using observational or nonrandomized data. In this article we provide a practical illustration of the appropriate steps in conducting propensity score analyses. For illustrative purposes, we use a sample of current smokers who were discharged alive after being…

Objective: The views of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) about three key services (non-invasive ventilation [NIV], early discharge schemes and rehabilitation) were sought in order to inform recommendations for the delivery of optimum care within a national programme of hospital COPD service development. Design: Four focus…

The overall use of acute care services by nursing home (NH) residents in Canada has not been well documented. Our objectives were to identify the major causes of hospitalization among NH facility residents and to compare rates to those of community-dwelling seniors. A retrospective cohort was defined using population-level health administrative…

We examined the prevalence of medical problems in children and teenagers with Down syndrome in Hong Kong. Methods: Children with Down syndrome receiving care from seven regional hospitals were included and their hospital records were reviewed. A total of 407 patients, aged between 0.06 and 17.16 years were included. Cardiovascular problems were…

Investigated interacting effects of information-based preparation and dispositional desire for information among first-time cardiac catheterization patients. Findings from 72 adults randomly assigned to high- or low-information preparation condition revealed that, when desire for information and preparatory information level were matched, there…