In July 2006, an informative heart fair was held to help educate both patients and the community about cardiology and EP. In this interview, we speak with Salwa Beheiry, RN, who helped organize the event. She is the Director of EP Services at Sutter Pacific Heart Centers in San Francisco, California.

Figure 1.

Electrophysiologist Dr. Hao interacts with a group of visitors in front of the Medtronic Truck about atrial fibrillation.

I read that this Heart Fair was your concept. Why was it important to organize such an event?
       The Heart Fair idea was started by Medtronic, who offered to bring their training truck to Marin General. This truck offers virtual training opportunities to physicians to practice implanting pacemakers and defibrillators in a simulated environment. I have always wanted to plan a community service to raise the public awareness of the problems of congestive heart failure, sudden cardiac death and atrial fibrillation, as well as the latest therapies available for these conditions. I already had plans for two campaigns: “Do You Know Your EF?” and “Atrial Fibrillation: It Is Not Only A Nuisance.” Combining the two activities together — the training truck with the two campaigns — seemed to me a perfect opportunity for the public to visit a simulated EP lab, meet our professional team and to have a well-rounded experience related to these conditions.

Describe where the event took place and how long the heart fair lasted.
       The event took place on the grounds of the hospital. It lasted for two days, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. The two days were beautiful, sunny days, and besides the educational and informational activities, our guests enjoyed food and drinks all day long.

How many people attended? Describe the mix of people who attended. Did any of MGH’s electrophysiology patients attend as well?
       The event was attend by approximately 200 people. Some of them were our previous patients, and others included health professionals from the hospital with their families, students from the surrounding high schools, and citizens of Marin and Sonoma Counties. The training for the implanting MDs and the RNs was attended by approximately 12 physicians and 10 RNs/techs. The new Select Secure pacemaker lead was introduced, and the physicians had the chance to have hands-on training and certification. During these two days, health care professionals were also introduced to the new wireless devices Virtuoso and Concerto by Medtronic. The event was also attended by seven echo technicians who had a special class and hands-on experience related to optimizing CRT guided by echocardiography (V to V optimization). Our two electrophysiologists, Dr. Hao and Dr. Hongo, were present, and explained and demonstrated the implant procedures to the public and the health care professionals who attended.
       The attendees’ ages ranged from children (8–9 years old) to adults up to 80 years old. Marin County is 30 miles south of Napa, 18 miles south of Sonoma, and 8–10 miles north of San Francisco. We had visitors from all of these areas.

Figure 2.

Dr. Hongo, our electrophysiologist, explains ICD implants to some young visitors.

What steps did you take to organize this event? How was the public informed about this event? Would an event like this be difficult for other hospitals to replicate?
       A few weeks before the event we sent invitations to the San Francisco and Marin County internists, cardiologists and electrophysiologists. For the public, we announced the event in our two major local newspapers. We also informed our patients during our weekly outpatient arrhythmia clinics. Since we wanted high school students who might be interested in a career in health care to attend, and since schools are out for the summer, we asked two of our high school interns to call as many of their school mates as they could to invite them to the event. We also sent invitations to our local community college.
       I think that this event could be replicated by any medical center. Medtronic has been very helpful in planning the event with us, and I am certain they would do the same with any other facility. The training truck has visited several facilities across the US. However, this was the first time that we made it a public event to provide education on arrhythmias in general.

What kinds of educational materials and equipment were on display at the heart fair?
       In collaboration with Medtronic, we provided demo ICDs, pacemakers, pacing leads and device programmers. In addition, we had several brochures on EF, sudden cardiac death, CHF and atrial fibrillation. Of course, the simulated EP lab was an exceptionally interesting demonstration.

Figure 3.

An attendee tries his hand at a virtual implant of LV lead with Dr. Hao watching.

What were the most common comments you received from attendees?
       The attendees asked all kinds of questions regarding signs and symptoms of these conditions, risk factors and treatments. Some of the attendees were our patients who have already received ICD implants and BiVs. It was very exciting for them to watch an implant procedure, and some of them actually attempted a simulated hands-on implant.

Why is it important for patients to learn about cardiac conditions in this type of medical environment?
       The public in general has very little awareness of sudden cardiac death, congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation. These conditions combined affect probably 5 to 6 million individuals in the US. They have a very high economic burden on our health care system, let alone their incapacitating effects on the individuals who suffer from them. An educated patient is a patient who can make sound decisions related to his/her care. An event such as this one offers a unique opportunity in a relaxed atmosphere to provide a comprehensive educational experience to the public. The public and the health care professionals who attended had the opportunity to interact with EP physicians and nurses, with representatives from the industry, and with patients who have received one or more of these therapies, which were discussed and displayed during the event. Above all, this event provided our EP staff and electrophysiologists the chance to interact with the attendees, especially our coworkers at Marin General, and introduce them to all the activities of the electrophysiology services and give them a glimpse of the EP lab, which for some is sometimes a mystery.

Do you plan to hold another event next year or in the upcoming future?
       We will do our best to plan two of these events every year. Our EP program is committed to providing the essential tools to our patients and community in order for them to be able to make sound, educated decisions regarding their health and well-being.