Nursing interventions in the care of patients after the placement of a cardiac pacemaker

Abstract

Background: Nurses/technicians are an important part of cardiological teams that take care of patients with cardiac pacemakers. (CP) Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the healthcare of patients with CP and the role and attitudes of nurses/technicians in this process. Materials and Methods: Two samples of 30 patients with cardiac pacemakers and 20 nurses/technicians from the Clinical Centre Zvezdara in Belgrade, were interviewed with a Patient Survey consisted of 17 questions and a Nurse Survey with 13 questions (demographic data, clinical data, educational data and attitudes). Results and Discussion: The most common indication for a CP is symptomatic bradycardia (50%). The most frequent complication after CP implantation was hematoma (30%). Most of the patients had symptoms of vertigo and fainting after the CP installation (80%), limited mobility (90%), and the average length of hospitalization of the patient was up to 7 days (50%). Most patients go for regular check-ups (93%). The degree of satisfaction of patients with the work of nurses shows that most of them are satisfied or very satisfied (80%). Most nurses/technicians are satisfied with the cooperation with patients (80%) and colleagues (95%) and generally believe that there is teamwork in the department (75%). Respondents generally believe that there is active family cooperation in education (85%). About two-thirds of nurses/technicians go to continuing education. Conclusion: This study in a Belgrade clinic shows that nurses/technicians largely contribute to satisfactory healthcare of patients with pacemaker.