After I was discharged from the Coronary Care Unit following my heart attack, I was puzzled because, other than a pile of reading material about heart-healthy eating, I was pretty well booted out the door with virtually no follow-up care plan once I got home.
When my friend Viv’s daughter Kate phoned me a few days later (Kate happens to be a cardiac nurse at CCU), I had an endless list of panicky questions for her about my surprisingly distressing ongoing chest pains along with dozens of other issues. I was convinced that another heart attack was imminent – an extremely terrifying prospect for a freshly diagnosed heart patient.
Canadian researchers in Ottawa have now developed a simple tool for hospital staff to predict the probability that patients like me, discharged from hospital to the community, will die or be unexpectedly readmitted within 30 days.
The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, could help identify patients who may benefit from closer monitoring and care, so that serious health problems can be prevented. (more…)
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