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            Auburn University - University Relations
                         (334) 844-9999
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5/26/95                        Mitch Emmons

NURSING RESEARCHERS TRYING TO PREDICT HEART PATIENT PROBLEMS
     AUBURN -- Researchers in Auburn University's School of Nursing
are working on ways to predict when heart surgery patients might be
prone to post-operative complications.
     In a joint project with East Alabama Medical Center in
Opelika, Assistant Professor Jenny Hamner is gathering data about
patient complications following angioplasty -- a medical procedure
in which a plastic balloon-like catheter is inserted to clear
arterial passageways in the heart.
     "We are looking at bleeding complications following removal of
the sheath," Hamner says. "That's the tube used during the
procedure that enables the physician to thread the catheter into
the heart arteries. Its removal generally is one of the nurses
duties."
     Hamner says bleeding following removal of the sheath is not
common, but it can be a serious occurrence. 
     "We know the complications rate is real low," she said. "But
this is a widely used invasive procedure with coronary heart
disease patients, and bleeding can be a serious problem in some.
     "We're looking at various factors and trying to learn if these
factors can be used to predict when a patient is more likely to
have bleeding complications."
     Hamner and her colleagues are studying records from 200
randomly selected patients.
     "We also selected some that were known to involve bleeding
complications," she added. "We will use statistics to compare the
two groups. We hope to learn if certain characteristics put one in
the non-complications group versus the group that had
complications."
     The sheath generally is removed within 24 hours after the
angioplasty is performed, says Hamner. She adds that a second phase
of this research will be an examination of sheath removal
techniques.
     "This first study is to identify predictors," Hamner said. "We
hope also, to look at sheath removal techniques to learn if with
certain patients, they might influence complications." 

# # # may95:AU-heart
                              CONTACT: Hamner, 334/844-5665.