Research into prevention of cardiovascular disease has increasingly focused on mobile health (mHealth) technologies and their efficacy in helping individuals adhere to heart-healthy recommendations, including daily physical activity levels. By including the use of mHealth technologies in the discussion of physical activity recommendations, clinicians empower patients to play an active daily role in modifying their cardiovascular risk-factor profile. In this review, we critically evaluate the mHealth and physical activity literature to determine how these tools may lower cardiovascular risk while providing real-time tracking, feedback, and motivation on physical activity levels. We analyze the various domains-including user knowledge, social support, behavioral change theory, and self-motivation-that potentially influence the effectiveness of smartphone applications to impact individual physical activity levels. In doing so, we hope to provide a thorough overview of the mHealth landscape, in addition to highlighting many of the administrative, reimbursement, and patient-privacy challenges of using these technologies in patient care. Finally, we propose a behavioral change model and checklist for clinicians to assist patients in utilizing mHealth technology to best achieve meaningful changes in daily physical activity levels.
Background: Social connectedness is an important predictor of health outcomes and plays a large role in the physical and mental health of an individual and a community. The presence of a functioning health clinic with a community health worker program may indirectly improve health outcomes by increasing the social connectedness of the community in addition to providing direct patient care. This study examines the social connectedness of the inhabitants of three Mexican towns within the catchment area of a healthcare Non-Government Organization (NGO) through a qualitative analysis. Methods: Willing participants were videotaped answering open-ended questions about their community and use of healthcare resources. Interviews were then coded for relevant themes and analyzed for content relating to social connectedness, social isolation, and health. Results: Respondents reported that having a functioning community clinic had improved their lives significantly through direct provision of care and by reducing the financial burden of travel to seek medical care elsewhere. Respondents from each town differed slightly in their primary means of social support. One town relied more heavily on organized groups (i.e., religious groups) for their support system. Social isolation was reported most frequently by housewives who felt isolated in the home and by respondents that had to deal with personal illness. Respondents that self-identified as Community Health Workers (CHWs) in their respective communities acknowledged that their roles bestowed physical and psychological health benefits upon themselves and their families. Conclusions: Overall, a long-term health intervention may directly impact the relative social isolation and social connectedness of a community's inhabitants. The social connectedness of the community is an important quality that must be considered when evaluating and planning health interventions.
Coronary artery aneurysms are exceedingly rare and tend to be found incidentally on angiography. We present the case of a 6cm giant coronary artery aneurysm discovered in a 25 year old man. Subsequent workup included cardiac gated MRI, CT angiography and left heart catheterization. Imaging revealed a 6.7 x 6.2 x 6.0 cm aneurysm involving the mid LAD subsequent to the takeoff of a large septal perforator. He was taken electively for operative repair during which the aneurysm was opened, unroofed and ligated at the ostium while taking care to ensuring normal flow in the septal perforator that supplied multiple small collaterals. In this unique case, a coronary artery aneurysm of considerable size was encountered in the LAD of a healthy young adult in which the size of the aneurysm precluded distal revascularization via bypass grafting. Multiple imaging modalities were used to characterize this finding and aid in surgical planning.
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