Posted by Heart Hugger on Jul 28, 2021 1:44:55 PM
As a healthcare professional, you know that postoperative care after heart surgery is one of the most important factors driving the success and time it takes for your patients to recover.
The Heart Hugger Sternum Support Harness can help your patients not only recover quicker but provide those caring for them with more confidence as well.
How do sternotomy support devices work?
After heart surgery, pain management and preventing wound dehiscence and infection go hand in hand. However, many of the postoperative interventions prescribed are difficult for the patient to complete (and their caregivers to support) due to the fear, pain, and instability they experience after surgery.
Sternotomy support devices provide the patient, wound, and chest cavity with support and stabilization and can be operated by the patient themselves at any time.
This is how it works: the patient can close the belt by using the handle to encircle their chest, providing a stabilizing effect on their chest cavity and immobilizing the chest wound during periods of activity or while deep breathing or coughing.
The ability of the patient to find pain relief and comfort at any time without assistance is a major benefit of the Heart Hugger, which has been in production and has helped heart patients recover since the 1980s.
Here are some of the benefits of the Heart Hugger to both patients, their caregivers, and medical providers.
Patients are less likely to experience common postoperative complications
Wound dehiscence, infections, mediastinitis after heart surgery are complications that may not be able to be prevented in every instance. Still, sternum support devices have been shown to reduce the rates of these complications, especially when compared to other therapeutic aids like “heart pillows” during coughing or deep breathing.
Heart pillows have not been shown to reduce wound infection rates. They can also be unhygienic, do not splint/provide support to the sternum, provide pain relief, or encourage patient mobility or promote confidence.
Patients are more likely to comply with prescribed postoperative care instructions
Many patients struggle to comply with their postoperative care instructions (such as deep breathing and coughing) due to discomfort or fear. This non-compliance can lead to readmissions and other complications.
The pain-relief and confidence that the Heart Hugger Sternum Support Harness provides patients can empower them to be more compliant with their postoperative instructions, reducing the rate of infection and speeding their overall recovery rates. Also, it can be worn around the clock whether they are sleeping or awake and are pre-fit before surgery. This way, there is no misplacing the device, and the patient is already comfortable and familiar with it prior to surgery. They are already familiar with its operation and benefits.
And, it may give you the confidence as a health care professional to discharge your patients earlier!
Why Choose Heart Hugger?
Patients who use this device during their recovery are more mobile, experience more significant pain control satisfaction, and overall better recovery outcomes, contributing to cost and time savings for both the patient and the hospital.
The benefits of the Heart Hugger are available here: View studies and resources.
If you're a healthcare professional who is interested in getting started with Heart Hugger Sternum Support Harnesses, find a rep in your area!
