June 1999 Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 4 June 1999 IEPR Coordinator Corner Joanne Giordano, LPN, CHTP Cardiology and Medicine Associates, Inc. Vero Beach, FL Site 29 For the final issue of the first ywar of the IEPR Newsletter, we spotlight Joanne Giordano, LPN, CHTP from Vero Beach, Florida. Joanne is the supervisor and certified technician for EECP at Cardiology and Medicine Associates, Inc. of Vero Beach with Director Dr. Nancy Cho. Joanne grew up in New Jersey where she graduated at the top of her class from Jersey City Medical Center School of Nursing in 1978. She and husband Nicholas relocated to Florida in 1991. They have two daughters, ages 29 and 26 and 3 grandchildren ages 9, 8, and 6. Joanne is one of our star coordinators with 100% compliance for her site. She was a winner in our first comliance contest and also greatly contributed to the IEPR logo as seen on the front page. Joane is also a certified Healing Touch Practitioner, and co-owner of Healing Touch Therapy, a business specializing in Healing Touch techniques and therapeutic aromatherpay for wellness. Joanne also speaks at local community and civic group meetings on energy therapies and aromatherapy, meditation and stress management. Joanne's hobbies include art, literature, writing, public speaking, public education, music, dance and travel. Her goals include completing the Healing Touch International, Inc. Certified Instructor Course in 1999 and owning and operating a multi-faceted wellness and education center. Good Luck, Joanne! (Please read Joanne's poem, below.) "The EECP Pioneers" "You all remember that mournful sound, As patients bounced both up and down. Each one arrived with some sort of fears, And a few I recall...even shed some tears. But each one stated, "What good is wealth!" "It matter not, if you have poor health!" We taught them more about the human heart, Opening clogged vessels was their favorite part! They all were courageous and somewhat bold...Some short, some tall, some young, some old. The office staff love the "men in blue tights"...In the medical field, it's quite a sight! Daily weights were often up and down, But the doctor cheered when they lost a pound! each patient strove to do their best, Complying with ourders and getting some rest. "Diet and exercise" were a daily chant, They pushed away salt and walked til they pant. The groans and complaints of their first few days, Made that first weekend feel like a holiday. But soon they often had a change of heart, They said that weekend treatments might be smart. They arrived before dawn till well after dark, With a special entrance and places to park. And every day above all that noise, They taked and laughed and shared all their joys. In each new face there was commitment and hope, And we no longer tied them down with rope! Slowly each one improved and could see....A happier...healthier...pain-free "ME"! Nitro use dropped and so did the fatigue. They turned into Charles Atlas' and Cheryl Tieg's! Spouses and caretaker whispered to all..That patients were seen walking all over the mall! No Longer arriving with a sense of doom, They exclaimed that the bathroom was their favorite room! They even resumed their favorite sports, hitting balls on golf greens and tennis courts. A each one approached their graduation day, They pouted and stated, I want to STAY! It did us all good to see them improve, They had bounce in their step...they "got back their groove!" so to all the pioneers who put up a fight...And survived EECP, we honor you tonight. We wish you the best in all that you do.... We're proud ...we're honored.....and love ALL of you! ---Joanne Giordano, LPN, CHTP Cardiology and Medicine Associate, Inc. 1st Annual EECP Gathering of Dr. Cho's patients February 12, 1999 Note on Data Colletion It is important that data forms, (pre-, post-, folow-up) are completed for all patients, even those patients who have courses that last only a few sessions. Follow-up needs to be completed on the first course of treatment only for each patient. For example: if patient 990001 JOE has 2 treatments, goes on vacation for 3 weeks, and then returns to do 33 more treatments, you will have to complete a pre and post form for the initial 2 treatments. When the patient returns, complete another pre and post form. Then for the follow-up form you will complete and date the form based on the end of the 2-hour treatment; not the end of the 35-hour prescribed course. For completeness of the database, we must collect data on all patients who discontinue their treatments as well as those who complete their treatments. New IEPR Centers! A warm greeting to our newest centers: South County Cardiology Associates in Wakefield, RI; led by Neil Brandon, MD and coordinator Elizabeth Laffey, RN University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA; led by Ian Sarembock, MD and coordinator Ellen Longmoore, CNMT New York Heart Center in Syracuse, NY; led by Eugene Lozner, MD, FACC and coordinator Dean Humphreys, RN, MSN, FNP Central Arkansas Cardiology in North Little Rock, AR; led by Charles Caldwell, MD and coordinator Karen Schales, LPN Ohio Heart Center in Cincinnati, OH; led by Charles Abbottsmith, MD and coordintor Sandy Metze, EMT Mayo Clinic in Rochester , MN; led by Gregory Barsness, MD and coordinator Theresa Schnell, RN . Ochsner Foundation in New Orleans, LA; led by Mandeep Mehra, MD and coordinator Bobbett Robichaux, RN Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Ireland; led by Professor John Horgan and coordinator Deirdre Dodd, RN Heart Centers of America, LLC in Portland, OR; led by Ronald Schutz, MD and coordinator Brenda Shepherd, RN EECP-Centers in Jakarta, Indonesia; led by Dr. Raymond Suwita. Integrated Cardiovascular Therapeutics in Woodbury, NY; led by Ronnie Hershman, MD and coordinator Debra Chalmers, ANP Sadler Clinic in Conroe, TX; led by Sammy Gammenthaler, MD and coordinator Kim Martin, RN The Heart Center in Huntsville, AL; led by J. Michael Campbell, MD and coordinator Jewell Owens, RN Welcome aboard! A message from Anthony Peacock, VP of Clinical Affairs, Vasomedical, Inc. As a serious-minded cardiovascular device company, Vasomedical, Inc. places great importance on participating in major scientific cardiology meetings. Among these, none is more importnat that the Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology. It was at this meeting in 1995 that EECP was first introduced to the cardiology community and we have participated as exhibitors and with EECP as the subject of oral papers and posters at every meeting since then. Of most interest to EECP centers and therapists, two of the formal meetings that we hold routinely at both the March ACC meeting and at the American Heart Association meeting every November, are the Clinical Issues Roundtable and the International EECP Patient Registry Investigator's meeting. The Clinical Issues Roundtable is primarily for physicians involved with providing EECP and is an open forum for discussing treatment-related technicalities and sharing experiences. Increasingly we are pleased to see that EECP supervisors and therapists have been participating in these discussions. Examining and reexamining issues helps us learn how to adapt EECP to unusual real-world clinical situations and provide you with help when it is needed. We don't distribute notes in order to maintain the uninhibited ambience that allows participants to debate freely and openly. However, if you have concerns or questions that our Clinical Affairs group cannot satisfy and you are not able to attend our meetings, please drop a line to Gudrun Lang, or me. We will add it to our items for discussion and let you kow the outcome. Registry issues are dealt with at the Registry Investigators' meeting. I imagine that everyone involved with the IEPR knows how tremendously successful the IEPR is. I won't go into numbers because they are mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter, but I would lke to thank every person who has had a part in the building of this wonderful and growing clinical information resource. At the Registry meeting we are able to review the Registry data, discuss results, and make publication plans. In the meeting we do capture the proceedings and circulate a condensed version to EECP centers along with Dr. Holubkov's presentation and notes. I hope all contributors have an opportunity to look over these and share our pleasure in witnessing what is essentially a record of many lives greatly improved. As reported elsewhere, a number of abstracts have been submitted to scientific cardiology congresses. We expect to be able to generate many more as well as some fully-fledged scientific papers in the near future. All Registry centers may request data analysis. If you would ike to pursue a particular aspect of this study for an abstract or manuscript the highly skilled folk at the IEPR Coordinating Center are offering to help you make it happen. What could be more satisfying that seeing your name and that of your center among the authors of an interesting scientific article? What was most striking at the recent ACC meeting was how profoundly changed is the present attitude to EECP. At the first meeting we saw many a smirk, more than a few guffaws and even some outright hostility. I can report that at this meeting we encountered nothing other than acceptance, interest, and respect. The change has not taken place overnight, but it most certainly has taken place, and it is owing in large part to having continued to pursue clinical studies work documenting the level of efficacy and degree of safety acheivable with EECP. The IEPR plays a significant role here. Your participation is meaningful contribution to what is quite a rare event in medicine: the birth of an entirely new therapeutic modality. Reminder! Have you been faxing in your forms on time? Remember the compliance contest ends on August 1, 1999! The winner will be randomly chosen among those with 100% compliance. Grand prize is a trip to the American Heart Association Scientific Meetings in Atlanta, GA in November, 1999. International EECP Patient Registry Chairman of Steering Committee Jonathan R. Jaffe, MD, FACC Editorial Staff: University of Pittsburgh Nichole Dwyer, BA Elizabeth Kennard, PhD Design and Production Nichole Dwyer, BA Sponsor Office: Vasomedical, Inc. Anthony Peacock, Vice President of Clinical Affairs Gudrun Lang, RN, BSN, Manager of Clinical Affairs IEPR Coordinating Center University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Epidemiology Data Center Sheryl F. Kelsey, PhD, Principal Investigator, Registry Director Richard Holubkov, PhD, Biostatistician Elizabeth Kennard, PhD, Registry Coordinator Nichole Dwyer, BA, Data Manager