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Cardiovascular

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Featured articles

View Cardiovascular Articles

Here you will find:

More than 500 articles especially written by colleagues to support your care of patients with the cardiovascular diseases commonly seen in primary care.

Articles on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cardiovascular conditions such as:

…and more.

Simple and informative infographics which will answer questions such as “How do these drugs work?”, “What causes this heart condition?” and much more.

Editorial

It is hard to believe that time goes so quickly. The spring lambs in the fields are now all fat, while they were small and wobbly not two minutes ago. Summer is on its way – fingers crossed for some balmy days! I have the relief of some respite from travelling round the country delivering training sessions during the summer, as everyone is taking a well-earned break. Reflecting while on the train, I recognised again that I always learn more than the students whenever I teach. I would like to share some of these gems of wisdom so you can think about them over this summer period.

Optimising your patients’ recovery after stroke

Around 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke every year, according to the Stroke Association. Most people affected are over 65, but younger people can have a stroke. Stroke is the third most common cause of death in the UK and is also an important cause of disability, with more than 250,000 people left disabled following a stroke. The recent National Stroke Strategy for England set out a quality framework to improve stroke services. In this article, we review what we can do to help optimise outcomes for our patients who have a stroke.

Starting on your GTN tablets or spray

GTN (glyceryl trinitrate) in tablet or spray form is used for the immediate relief of chest pain due to angina. The tablets have a short shelf-life and should be thrown away eight weeks after opening the bottle. The spray lasts longer, but you need to check the expiry date on the bottle. Angina is a […]

The Metabolic Syndrome: Pie in the Sky or Major New Disease?

The metabolic syndrome is a bit like smoothie makers. Everyone’s heard of them, many people seem to have them, but no-one is quite sure what to do with them. So let’s have a look at how the metabolic syndrome came to enter our vocabulary, what it really means and whether it is something that could help us to look after our patients better or just another cumbersome tool that produces a lot of heat but no light.

Procoralan (Ivabradine): A New Treatment Option for Angina

Angina is on the increase as people live longer. It is the most common symptom of ischaemic heart disease and occurs when the arteries are no longer able to supply the heart with enough blood to meet its demands. Treatment aims to restore the balance between oxygen supply and demand, to relieve the pain as quickly as possible and prevent further angina attacks, to treat the risk factors, limit the progression of coronary artery disease and reduce the risk of a heart attack. Procoralan (ivabradine) works by specifically inhibiting the If or ‘funny’ channel in the sinoatrial node of the heart (also known as the cardiac pacemaker) to reduce the resting heart rate, matching the efficacy of beta-blockers without their side-effects.

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