Effectiveness of body position on hemodynamic status of cardiac patients with reduced ejection fraction

Cardiovascular crisis is glaringly evident in developing countries like India. Latest data from WHO and reports of medical journals like Lancet and Indian Heart Journal has predicted that by the year 2020 there would be close to 100 million cardiac patients in India.(Kohn.D,2008)

Cardiac patients present with many cardiac symptoms like chest pain, breathlessness, palpitation, syncope etc. which in turn affects their quality of life. Oxygenation status is considered to be a dire priority for the nurses caring for these patients in the critical care units which can be achieved through cost-effective strategies like postural changes.

Keeping this in mind a pre-experimental study was undertaken among cardiac patients with reduced ejection fraction below 55% with an aim to evaluate the influence of body position on the hemodynamic parameters like heart rate, blood pressure, arterial oxygen saturation (SPO2), and the rate pressure product (RPP) which is an index of myocardial oxygen consumption, RPP= heart rate X systolic blood pressure/1000)