Increasing Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation Through a "Nearer to Home" Patient Referral Program.

PURPOSE: Time to travel to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) centers is a barrier to participation, and tertiary referral centers often care for patients living at a substantial distance. We sought to determine the impact of referring eligible patients to CR centers closer to home or workplace on overall participation rate. METHODS: An observational review was conducted in patients from a large cardiovascular program who were referred to CR (January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2016). Those declining participation due to distance from their home were identified and provided coordinated referral to a CR program they chose near their home or workplace. RESULTS: Of the 2912 patients referred to CR, 673 (23%) participated and 1900 declined due to distance. Contact was made in 2017 with 1237 of the 1900 of whom 1083 recalled a discussion of distance referral and completed the phone survey. Participants mean age was 64 yr, predominantly White (88%), male (65%), married (66%), and 70% had ≥ comorbidity. Out of the 1083 referred to a local CR program, 78% reported attending. Of those who attended CR, 55% (469/849) would not have attended had they not been referred to a program closer to their home or workplace. Overall participation increased from 23% to >50% of those referred from our institution. CONCLUSIONS: Coordinating CR referrals from the discharging facility to facilities closer to home or workplace is an effective means for increasing participation. The very low-cost effort has the potential to have a very meaningful impact on the long-term outcome of cardiovascular patients.

Proposed bedside maneuver to facilitate accurate anatomic orientation for correct positioning of ECG precordial leads V1 and V2: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Misplacement of right precordial electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes superiorly is a prevalent procedural error that may lead to false findings of T-wave inversion or QS complexes in V2-possibly triggering wasteful utilization of health care resources. Standard technique for proper placement of V1-V2 entails initial palpation for the sternal angle, pointing to the second intercostal space (ICS), followed by lead fixation at the fourth ICS. STUDY OBJECTIVE: Because adherence to this approach may be limited by lack of a visual landmark for the second ICS, we assessed an alternative technique. METHODS: The evaluated technique involved placement of the patient's hand up against the base of his/her neck (H→N maneuver) to help demarcate visually a specific point "X" on the chest. RESULTS: Of 112 patients studied, "X" landed on the first rib in 2.7%, first ICS in 7.1%, second rib in 56.3%, second ICS in 33.0%, and third rib in 0.9%. Thus, in 89.3% (95% confidence interval 83.6-95.0%) of cases (93.3% of men, 84.6% of women; p=0.13), the second ICS could be identified by H→N via the following simple rule: Utilize "X" if it overlies an ICS; or the immediately subjacent ICS if "X" overlies a rib. CONCLUSION: The H→N maneuver provides a primarily visual approach to identifying the second ICS and, thereby, the fourth ICS for affixing V1-V2. If the present initial experience is confirmed, H→N might merit consideration as an educational tool to promote anatomically correct placement of these precordial leads, a prerequisite to diminishing the incidence of ECG procedure-related "septal ischemia/infarction."