Making Best Practice, Every Day Practice
This resource is fully searchable using the search box at the top of the page, or to narrow down your selection using filters click on 'Knowledge hub' in the main navigation.
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.
Troponins are now measured routinely in patients with acute chest pain in most hospitals in the UK. Studies have confirmed that they represent a marker of risk for subsequent cardiac events in most patients. In this article we explore what troponins are, why they may increase in acute coronary syndromes, how they are measured and how likely they are to be used in the future.
Caring for patients with arrhythmias has evolved over the past decade as a result of technological innovation in both diagnosis and treatment. This article highlights some of the most common arrhythmias and reviews the most appropriate strategies for their medical management. The National Service Framework (NSF) for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) sets out three quality standards in the chapter on arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death and we look at how to successfully implement these.
We hope this issue of BJPCN is like an Easter egg – bright and appealing on the outside, with useful articles building a solid structure that you can really get your teeth into and lots of extra chocolates inside to sustain you over the next few weeks.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a condition that we are seeing more and more in general practice, with the increasingly ageing population. It is an important risk factor for stroke – particularly in older people – making it a good candidate for primary care teams to target in efforts to prevent cardiovascular disease. In this article, we explore how to diagnose and treat, using a case study to guide us through the key issues.
We have been out on the road, with six BJPCN roadshows around the UK throughout the last few months. Thank you to the dozens of primary care nurses who attended the workshops and made them such fun, and here is a snapshot of the events for everyone unable to be there.
As the daffodils start to bloom and we move into the Spring of 2008, I hope that BJPCN can help you find fresh resolve and inspiration to cope with the challenges facing primary care nursing in the year ahead.
The latest National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance on the secondary prevention of myocardial infarction (MI) is designed to help us achieve even more impact in reducing cardiovascular deaths, with updated recommendations on drug therapy and clear advice on diet, physical activity and smoking cessation. This article gives you a summary of the aims of the guidance and highlights issues of particular interest to primary care nurses delivering CVD management in practice.
Primary angioplasty is now recognised as the best treatment for clearing a blocked coronary artery after an ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and increasing numbers of patients will undergo this procedure as it becomes more available. In this article, we explore what is involved in primary angioplasty, what you need to tell to your patients and how to care for them after this procedure.
Well, I hope that I am not the first – or last – to wish you a happy festive season. With the bulk of the flu campaign over – and, I trust, successful – let us take a tentative look into the future. The new Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, set the scene in his first speech. Can we look forward to a Happy New Year for primary care in 2008?
Higher cardiac mortality in the winter has long been recognised. It may be due to colder temperatures, which have been associated with depression of heart rate variability and increases in vascular resistance, coronary vasospasm, blood pressure and haemostasis. The peak in cardiac mortality around Christmas and New Year is likely to be compounded by factors that accompany the holiday season: overindulgence in food, salt and alcohol, emotional stress or depression, exposure to particulates from fireplaces, holiday-induced delays in seeking medical attention and reduced staffing of healthcare facilities. How can we help our patients to reduce their risk?
“To be alive at all involves some risk.” Wise words from a former prime minister, Harold McMillan. In terms of preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD), we recognise that everyone who is still breathing is at some risk, but we calculate their risk of a cardiovascular event to assess what preventive action is warranted. New approaches developed for the UK look set to Jan Procter-King make our risk estimates more accurate.
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