Research, Educational and Practice Resources
Research Resources
Official site for the Self Care of Heart Failure Index.
This instrument was developed by Dr. Barbara Riegel over the past 2 decades. This instrument has strong psychometric support and is frequently used to measure self care in studies of patients with heart failure. This site offers a brief history of the instrument, the Self Care of Heart Failure Model upon which the instrument is based, the instrument, foreign language versions, directions for use and for scoring and information about adaptations of the instrument in development to measure self care in other patient populations. As this instrument is in the public domain, it may be accessed through this site and used without specific permission from Dr. Riegel, the developer of this instrument.
ScienceDocs, Inc.
ScienceDocs is a network of over 500 professionals from more than 50 universities and 30 countries. This company provides comprehensive scientific and medical research support service in the form of scientific editing and writing, language translation, study design consultation, and statistical programming and data analysis assistance. This is a highly recommended group with excellent references.
Educational and Practice Resources
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced NEW safety label changes for the cholesterol-lowering medication simvastatin. It was found that the highest approved dose--80 milligram (mg)--has been associated with an elevated risk of muscle injury or myopathy, particularly during the first 12 months of use.
The agency is recommending that simvastatin 80 mg be used only in patients who have been taking this dose for 12 months or more and have not experienced any muscle toxicity. It should not be prescribed to new patients. There are also new contraindications and dose limitations for when simvastatin is taken with certain other medications.
Read about the appropriate ways to prescribe simvastatin to your new and existing patients.
New CE opportunities
Free CE for Nurses who manage patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
PAH Nursing Virtual Clinic
At the end of this Continuing Education activity, participants should be able to:
- Identify patients at risk for pulmonary arterial hypertension
- List the symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension
- Describe the therapeutic regimens for the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension and their associated toxicities
- Develop strategies for self-care and medication adherence in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension
ST-Segment and QTc Monitoring: Implementing Evidenced-Based Practice
Hemorrhagic Stroke: Aggressive Management and Optimal Outcomes
PCNA Launches New Online CE Course - "CARING FOR A WOMAN'S HEART" Join JoAnne M. Foody, MD, FACC, FAHA, Director, Cardiovascular Wellness Program, Bringham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, and Kathy Berra, MSN, ANP, FAANP, FPCNA, FAAN, Stanford Prevention Reserach Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, for this informative and though-provoking presentation on women and cardiovascular health.
Other Available PCNA CE offerings
- Mindset: A New Strategy for Health Behavior Change
- Stable Ischemic Heart Disease: Maximizing Quality of Life
- Children's Dietary Recommendations
- Translating Epidemiology into Sound Public Health Advice
- Taking Women's Health to Heart: An Update on Women and Cardiometabolic Syndrome
- Move It! Update From the Activity Side of the Energy Balance Equation -Plus Strategies to Get Your Clients off the Couch
- Exercise is Medicine: Understanding the Evidence
PCNA Launches Online CE Offering: Stable Ischemic Heart Disease
This course will feature the COURAGE and BARI 2D trial results, with a special emphasis on nurse case management for delivering optimal medical care. It will also include a brief review of the different drug classes for management of angina. The COURAGE and BARI 2D trials in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease both reported that an initial strategy of routinely adding percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to optimal medical therapy in the absence of significant left main coronary disease did not increase survival rates or prevent myocardial infarction. The BARI 2D trial in patients with Type 2 diabetes included coronary bypass surgery (CABG), as well as PCI, as an initial revascularization strategy. The BARI 2D trial reported that a strategy of prompt CABG and optimal medical care was superior to inital optimal medical care alone in preventing subsequent myocardial infarction.
1 CE Credit (includes 1 contact hour of pharmacology). This online educational activity offered free of charge.
Exercise Toolkit Provides a Guide for Peripheral Arterial Disease Professionals
The Vascular Disease Foundation “Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Exercise Training Toolkit: A Guide for Health Care Professionals.” was developed jointly by the Vascular Disease Foundation (VDF) and the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR). This toolkit may be useful in the management of patients with PAD
