Wow I can’t believe it’s the last blog post! This class has been a great learning experience. Lecture and clinical have really helped me grow in my nursing skills and critical thinking. Learning this final piece of the puzzle (critical care) has reiterated concepts that we have been learning through this whole program and solidified them. One example of a concept that I have finally understood is ABGs. In patho especially, it was hard for me to distinguish respiratory verses metabolic acidosis/alkalosis. In saying that, it surprises me, knowing how well I understand it all now. I also really enjoyed learning the different types of dysrhythmias and their treatment. ACLS is a really important class to take to reinforce the concepts of heart rhythms and how to treat a patient in a critical situation. My passion for cardiac disorders and treatment has also grown this semester. I hope to start off working on a telemetry unit and continue to learn about the heart while I grow as a nurse. I am so thankful for this program, the faculty, and the students. I truly feel blessed to have gone through this program with everyone and for everything that I experienced and learned!

I spoke with my mother and father regarding the medications they take and asked them a few questions. My dad doesn’t take any regular medications be he knew a lot about common over the counter drugs for pain and when you are sick, ect. (anti inflammatory, cold, cough, stomach pain medications). He also knows about the anti nausea/dizziness medications because he gets motion sickness sometimes when he travels. He was not really familiar with side effects to medications or the safe doses except what the bottle tells him.

My mom on the other hand has a few different health problems and has worked in the medical field for many years. Therefore, she is fairly familiar with different medications or at least the common classes of medications. She also knows a lot about alternative medications and practices. We have even used some alternative treatments. She takes a medication for her blood pressure- Bystolic (beta blocker). She knew what it is for and why she is taking it. She stated that Bystolic can cause your blood pressure to decrease too much and may cause a headache. Synthroid and Cytomel are other medications she takes due to hypothyroidism. She stated that she thinks these medications can cause tachycardia if she took too much of the drugs.

Less Invasive Procedure to Treat Atrial Fibrillation for Better Outcomes:

The treatment discussed in the article is a less invasive procedure called catheter ablation. This procedure is now considered first-line treatment for atrial fibrillation and replaces the need of surgery for treatment of atrial fibrillation that fails to heal with medications alone. Ablation treats abnormalities of the heart’s electrical system by purposely creating scar tissue that acts as a barrier to the abnormal electrical signals. This allows the heart to return to a normal sinus rhythm.

Advances in catheter ablation: The idea is to more closely identify the area of the heart that is causing the atrial fibrillation. In doing so, this would increase the success rate of treating atrial fibrillation. I support the continued research in order to find the best practice in treating patients with all conditions, specifically atrial fibrillation. It is important to implement the most updated treatment methods that have the most  evidence of success to increase patient health outcomes.

The article discussed that they are aware that there is further research that needs to be done to improve this treatment and that they believe patients should have an updated view of what doctors know. I appreciate this statement because it is important for potential recipients of a treatment to be aware of the latest research and evidence regarding something that they may choose to do in order to improve their health.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/heart-health/new-ablation-methods-results-in-advanced-afib-treatment.aspx