CVD prevention for practice nurses

The West of England AHSN is hosting a series of 60-minute online education sessions for practice nurses on the management of patients at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Delivered by an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, the virtual session will include time for questions and discussion. Although this will be of particular benefit to practice nurses, the sessions are open to primary care health care professionals.

A number of dates and times are available:

• 28 June 2022: 12:00 -13:00
• 12 July 2022: 12:00 – 13:00
• 26 July 2022: 13:00 – 14:00

The NHS Long Term Plan states that the biggest area where the NHS can save lives over the next 10 years is in reducing the incidence of CVD, which causes a quarter of all deaths in the UK and is the largest cause of premature mortality in deprived areas. The Global Burden of Disease Study identified high blood pressure and high cholesterol as a leading risk factor driving mortality and morbidity from CVD. These risk factors are high impact but also highly modifiable.

This session will cover the optimisation of patients with CVD, including the use of the AAC Lipid Optimisation Pathway and guidelines on blood pressure optimisation. The aim of this session is to support general practice nurses to recognise and manage CVD risk factors, including hypertension and dyslipidaemia, using a case study-based approach.

By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:

– consider how CVD risk assessment informs the diagnosis and management of hypertension and dyslipidaemia;

– evaluate the role of lifestyle and pharmacological management in optimising outcomes;

– implement evidence-based strategies, such as the Accelerated Access Collaborative lipid pathway and guidelines on blood pressure optimisation, to reduce risk and

– support people to address CVD risk factors through informed and shared decision making.

These events relate to the AHSN’s FH and lipid optimisation and blood pressure optimisation programmes.