{"title":"Development of a self-assessment tool for transition to daily life post-cardiac surgery.","authors":"Akiko Makino, Satoshi Nakata, Toshiko Yoshida","doi":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf201","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf201","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Physical, psychological, and social distress experienced by patients undergoing cardiac surgery has long-term effects on quality of life. Therefore, patient-centred, continuous, and comprehensive transitional care is required. We aimed to develop a Self-Assessment Tool for Transition to Daily Life (SAT-TDL) and to examine its reliability and validity.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>A draft SAT-TDL was developed and validated by experts. A modified version was then developed through patient interviews and acceptability assessment, and its reliability and validity were evaluated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Construct validity was tested using the standard version of the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12v2). The initial 56-item SAT-TDL draft was modified into a 28-item pilot version and then into a 27-item version based on feedback from seven patients who had undergone cardiac surgery. From 340 valid responses, the 27-item SAT-TDL yielded four domains through item and factor (exploratory and confirmatory) analyses. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the entire tool was 0.95. Hypothesis testing revealed significant correlations between the psychological aspects of the SF-12v2 and 'psychological transitions' domain of the SAT-TDL, and between the social aspects of the SF-12v2 and 'continuation of self-management' and 'meeting care needs' domains of the SAT-TDL. The final model fit was generally good (CMIN/DF = 3.3285, GFI = 0.809, AGFI = 0.771, CFI = 0.883, and RMSEA = 0.083).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The SAT-TDL is a reliable and valid self-assessment tool. Sharing information on patients' post-discharge transitions and care needs with medical staff may support smoother recovery and improve the quality of life after cardiac surgery.</p>","PeriodicalId":93997,"journal":{"name":"European journal of cardiovascular nursing","volume":" ","pages":"388-397"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145919468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Association between the rate of force development of quadriceps and physical performance in older patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Takuji Adachi, Ryosuke Hosono, Taisei Sano, Kenichi Shibata, Hideki Kitamura","doi":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf183","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf183","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>This study aims to assess the association between the quadriceps rate of force development (RFD) and physical performance in older patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>A cross-sectional study was conducted with hospitalized patients aged ≥65 years who underwent cardiovascular surgery. Physical performance was evaluated using a Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). The 4 m gait speed and time for five repeated chair stands were analysed as secondary outcomes. Ninety-four participants were enrolled (mean age, 75 years; men, 58.5%; median SPPB, 10 points; ≤9 points, 42.6%). Quadriceps isometric strength was measured, and RFD values at two time points (RFD100, 0-100 ms; RFD200, 0-200 ms) were calculated from the slope of the force-time curve. Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) was also calculated. In all participants, the SPPB was significantly associated with RFD100, RFD200, and MVC. The 4 m gait speed was correlated with RFD100, RFD200, and MVC, and the chair stand test time was negatively correlated with RFD100, RFD200, and MVC. Although these significant associations persisted after adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index or skeletal muscle mass, the association between RFD and physical performance was not significant after adjusting for MVC. Subgroup analysis revealed that the correlation coefficients between RFD and physical performance measures were greater in patients with low muscle mass than in those with preserved muscle mass. Similar results were observed for the secondary outcomes.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Rate of force development and physical performance were significantly correlated after cardiovascular surgery, especially in those with low muscle mass.</p>","PeriodicalId":93997,"journal":{"name":"European journal of cardiovascular nursing","volume":" ","pages":"317-326"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145893538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dynamic trends and influencing factors of self-care behaviours among Chinese older adults with chronic heart failure during vulnerable period: a longitudinal study.","authors":"Yu Chen, Ying Lin, Xinyue Dong, Yan Xue, Dong Wu","doi":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf197","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf197","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>To explore the trends of self-care behaviours among Chinese older adults with chronic heart failure (CHF) during the vulnerable period (VP) and to analyze influencing factors.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>This was a longitudinal study. From October 2022 to July 2023, 255 patients were recruited from a tertiary hospital in Shanghai, China. Data regarding self-care behaviours (self-care maintenance, symptom perception, and self-care management), self-care confidence, illness perception, self-efficacy, social support, HF knowledge, and demographic and clinical information were collected during hospitalization (T1) utilizing validated questionnaires and electronic health records. Follow-up behavioural data were collected at 2 weeks (T2), 4 weeks (T3), 2 months (T4), and 3 months (T5) post-discharge. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to identify the trends of self-care behaviours, and the generalized estimation equation was used to explore influencing factors. Self-care maintenance scores reached 70 at T2, T4, and T5, while self-care management scores exceeded 70 at time points from T2 to T5. Symptom perception scores never reached 70 any single time point. There were significant temporal variations across all 3 domains, characterized by a rapid improvement at 2 weeks post-discharge, followed by subsequent stabilization or decline (P < 0.05). Residential area, educational level, cardiac function, self-care confidence, and HF knowledge were key influencing factors (P < 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Self-care behaviours among patients improved within the first two weeks post-discharge but tended to stabilize or decline thereafter, indicating a critical window for targeted interventions. Health care professionals should tailor self-care promotion strategies to both the temporal patterns of behaviours and patient-specific characteristics.</p>","PeriodicalId":93997,"journal":{"name":"European journal of cardiovascular nursing","volume":" ","pages":"366-376"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145893543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Nutrition Intervention Combined Exercise-Support programme: a NICE way to combat frailty in heart failure?","authors":"Anke Kampmann, Faye Forsyth","doi":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvag043","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvag043","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93997,"journal":{"name":"European journal of cardiovascular nursing","volume":" ","pages":"339-342"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147286625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A heart attack?! Don't be silly! A personal perspective on spontaneous coronary artery dissection.","authors":"Jill McLaggan","doi":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf152","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf152","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93997,"journal":{"name":"European journal of cardiovascular nursing","volume":" ","pages":"225-226"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144765892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Commentary on 'What services are currently provided to people with HFpEF in the UK'.","authors":"Mulubrhan F Mogos","doi":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf155","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf155","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93997,"journal":{"name":"European journal of cardiovascular nursing","volume":" ","pages":"237-238"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145126780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Palliative care, advance care planning, and end-of-life care: a quest for conceptual clarity.","authors":"Brianna E Balansay, Jill M Steiner","doi":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf182","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf182","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Healthcare providers will increasingly care for patients with cardiovascular disease that has progressed to advanced or even end stage. In this setting, goals of care may shift from life-prolonging to symptom-focused, and use of approaches like advance care planning, palliative care, and end-of-life care may be increasingly important. Clinicians must be familiar with these concepts to employ them in a timely and appropriate manner. Herein, we describe the distinguishing features of each concept, describe common barriers to use, and demonstrate when patients may benefit from these approaches, in an effort to provide holistic care aligned with patients' goals and values.</p>","PeriodicalId":93997,"journal":{"name":"European journal of cardiovascular nursing","volume":" ","pages":"412-415"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145890642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maria Bäck, Sotiris Antoniou, Thomas Butler, Paul Dendale, Andrea Greco, Dominique Hansen, Loreena Hill, Lis Neubeck, Amanda Rand, D A M J Theuns, Thomas Quinn, Catherine Ross, Rani Khatib
{"title":"A multidisciplinary approach to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease, with special reference to the allied professionals' perspective: a clinical consensus statement by the European Society of Cardiology Task Force on Allied Professionals with contributions from the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions, the Association for Acute CardioVascular Care, the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions, the European Association of Preventive Cardiology, the European Heart Rhythm Association, and the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology.","authors":"Maria Bäck, Sotiris Antoniou, Thomas Butler, Paul Dendale, Andrea Greco, Dominique Hansen, Loreena Hill, Lis Neubeck, Amanda Rand, D A M J Theuns, Thomas Quinn, Catherine Ross, Rani Khatib","doi":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf165","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf165","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) requires a multidisciplinary approach based on expert input from physicians, nurses, and many different allied professionals (APs). Key challenges in CVD include health inequalities, sub-optimal risk factor detection and adherence with clinical guidelines, human resourcing issues, and inadequate patient education. Allied professionals can play key roles in addressing these challenges. However, current service models will need to be transformed to better integrate APs. Appropriate strategies may include the development of shared pathways with improved definition of roles and responsibilities, creation of 'competency frameworks' to facilitate advanced practice among APs, and enhanced sharing of best practice models.</p>","PeriodicalId":93997,"journal":{"name":"European journal of cardiovascular nursing","volume":" ","pages":"219-224"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145890644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Paloma Garcimartín, Guillermo Pedreira-Robles, Neus Badosa, Anna Linas, Laia Rosenfeld, Mercedes Faraudo, Esther Calero, Elena Calvo, Nuria Jose, Josep Comín-Colet
{"title":"Empowerment trajectories in patients with chronic heart failure: a descriptive correlational study.","authors":"Paloma Garcimartín, Guillermo Pedreira-Robles, Neus Badosa, Anna Linas, Laia Rosenfeld, Mercedes Faraudo, Esther Calero, Elena Calvo, Nuria Jose, Josep Comín-Colet","doi":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf159","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf159","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Patient empowerment is a key factor in the management of chronic heart failure (HF), as it enables individuals to better understand and manage their condition, improve outcomes, and reduce the risk of decompensation. This study aims to identify predictors of baseline empowerment and its changes (improvement or deterioration) in patients with HF. Examining empowerment trajectories can help identify patients at risk of deterioration and support the design of tailored interventions.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>Sociodemographic, clinical, psychosocial, HRQoL, self-care, and empowerment questionnaire data were collected at baseline and at 12 weeks. Empowerment evolution was calculated as the difference between baseline and 12-week empowerment values, categorized as improvement, no change, or deterioration. The sample was analysed descriptively, and bivariate, linear, and regression models were applied. Factors associated with lower baseline empowerment included functional class (P = 0.01) and anxiety (P = 0.01). Predictors of empowerment deterioration were age (P = 0.003), functional class (P = 0.037), and dependency level (P = 0.047). Regression analyses showed that advanced age (P < 0.03), cognitive status (P = 0.006), and level of dependency (P = 0.002) were the main determinants of deterioration in empowerment over time.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Poor functional status and anxiety were associated with lower baseline empowerment levels. Advanced age, cognitive decline, and higher dependency were significant predictors of worsening empowerment over time. These findings emphasize the need for tailored interventions to address functional, psychological, and cognitive challenges in patients with HF to support their empowerment and improve health outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":93997,"journal":{"name":"European journal of cardiovascular nursing","volume":" ","pages":"302-313"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144839423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}