Dr. Patricia Crane
Patricia Crane, PhD, RN, FAHA, FNAP
“I love science and building Nursing Science to change lives.”
- Research Interest: Developing interventions to mitigate fatigue in adults post myocardial infarction.
- Innovation: Using a biobehavioral approach to understand fatigue post MI.
- Study Design: Quantitative
- Research Population: Adults living in the community who have experienced a heart attack
- Sampling Strategy: Convenience
- Intervention: Once the mechanism of fatigue in this population is understood, interventions will be developed and tested.
- Study Variables: Fatigue, cytokines/chemokines, depression, and sleep.
- Data Collection Instruments: PROMIS, Revised Piper Fatigue Scale, CES-D, serum samples, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
- Analysis Methods: Modeling
- Collaborators: Psychology, Occupational Therapy, and Pharmacology
- Funding: NINR, foundation, seed monies, NIMHD
Fatigue is the most prevalent symptom post MI and on primary care visits. This fatigue is not related to heart function (ejection fraction) nor medications, such as beta blockers. Yet, up to 70% of adults report fatigue up to 7 years after their heart attack and this fatigue affects physical activity and quality of life. Understanding and intervening on this symptom would mitigate or eliminate the most common barrier to physical activity and increase quality of life.