Excellent Resources for Cardiac Nursing

Too pooped to pump: Managing chronic heart failure

The body depends on the heart's ability to circulate blood. When the heart is damaged by illness or injury, the body marshals all of its forces to make up for the loss of function. This article examines what happens when heart failure overcomes the body's ability to compensate, and offers insights on treatments that can help fix the problem.

NursingCenter - Professional Development - CE Article

Drugs for Hypertension

Antianginal Drugs

Antidysrhythmic Drugs

Lipid-Lowering Agents

Diuretic Agents

Medications to Treat Anemia

Blaufuss Multimedia - Heart Sounds and Cardiac Arrhythmias

Excellent resource!

Nursing clinical procedure guidelines from VUMC

Practice standards for electrocardiographic monitoring in hospital settings: an American Heart Association scientific statement from the Councils on Cardiovascular Nursing, Clinical Cardiology, and Cardiovascular Disease in the Young.

NGC - NGC Summary

RECOMMENDATIONS
EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS
IDENTIFYING INFORMATION AND AVAILABILITY
DISCLAIMER

Go to the Complete Summary

SkillStat Learning - ECG simulator, Heartscape (dynamic learning tool that reviews cardiac anatomy), Cardiac Trivia Challenge, Cardiac Dictionary. The ACLS feature on the site is from the 2000 protocols, not 2005 (out-of-date).

http://www.skillstat.com/learn.htm

Excellent article:

Heart Failure: The Physiologic Basic for Current Therapeutic Concepts

To understand the contemporary management of acute heart failure, it is essential to understand not only the functions of the normal heart but also what happens to the heart and to the body as a whole when the heart begins (and continues) to fail. This article reviews the physiological aspects of normal cardiac function and the pathophysiological aspects of heart failure, with an eye toward promoting greater understanding of this condition.

http://www.aacn.org/aacn/jrnlccn.nsf...f?OpenDocument

Managing hospitalized patients with heart failure


What you need to know about the new practice
guidelines for evaluation, care, and treatment of heart
failure patients in the hospital.

Recognizing ventricular arrhythmias and preventing sudden cardiac death

Be prepared to stop these dangerous dysrhythmias.

Improving the care of stroke patients

Using an evidence-based quality improvement initiative enhances outcomes for stroke patients.