Pathophysiology: The Cardiovascular System
Course #38832 - $90 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
This course covers pathophysiologic concepts and nursing interventions for patients with heart and coronary vessel disease and disorders. The pathology of physiologic function is detailed for coronary heart disease (CHD), angina pectoris, myocardial infarction (MI), congestive heart failure (CHF), dysrhythmias, inflammatory processes, and valvular heart disease. Associated pathophysiology is covered in each disease presentation and includes diagnostic examinations and needed laboratory tests and procedures relevant for that health problem. Nursing assessment strategies, care planning, interventional management, and patient teaching are addressed. This course is designed to broaden the nurse's understanding of pathophysiology by exploring causes, alterations and physiology adaptations, manifestations, and resolution of disease states. Pathophysiologic symptoms and signs are described in relation to the patient's clinical presentation, allowing the nurse to monitor physical changes and relate them directly to the illness process. Appropriate diagnostic tests and treatments for each problem are included along with the nurse's responsibilities for patient teaching about these experiences. Information about disease progression, remission, and resolution may also be found in the case studies included in the course.
- INTRODUCTION
- THE HEART: STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL INTER-RELATIONSHIPS
- REGULATORY FUNCTIONS OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
- PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS
- RELATED SYSTEM INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS
- PSYCHOSOCIAL/LIFESTYLE INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS
- NURSING ASSESSMENT: ESTABLISHING THE DATA BASE
- CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
- CARDIAC SURGERY
- CASE STUDIES
- CONCLUSION
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for nurses working in both critical care and coronary care units and those on any medical-surgical unit in which patients with multiple organ system problems are found.
As health care becomes more complex, it is essential that the theoretical concepts of the basis of illness (pathophysiology) be well understood. The purpose of this course is to reinforce the scientific rationales for the interventions nurses perform and the decisions nurses make as patients move through the ever-changing struggle with their illness.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Describe the key structures and functional inter-relationships in the cardiovascular system.
- Identify the regulatory functions of the cardiovascular system.
- Discuss the pathophysiologic and environmental influences and effects on the cardiovascular system.
- Outline the role of subjective data in completing a full nursing assessment of the cardiovascular system.
- Describe objective data compiled during a nursing assessment of the cardiovascular system.
- Identify elevated enzyme changes in myocardial infarction and the significance of the elevation.
- Analyze electrocardiographic tracing appearance characteristics in patients with cardiovascular disease.
- Evaluate cardiac catheterization results in the nursing diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.
- Identify other diagnostic tests used in the identification and classification of cardiovascular diseases.
- Outline the nursing diagnosis and management of angina pectoris and myocardial infarction.
- Review signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure and related nursing actions.
- Describe the common causes, appearances, and treatment of dysrhythmias.
- Identify pathologic causes and manifestations of inflammatory diseases of the heart.
- Discuss the pathophysiology and clinical manifestations of valvular heart disease processes.
- Discuss the concepts and information the nurse should provide for the patient during the health teaching and discharge planning process after cardiac surgery.
Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD, received her undergraduate education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus. There she completed a double major in Sociology and English. She completed an Associate of Science in Nursing at the University of Tennessee, Nashville campus and began her nursing career at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Jane received her Masters in Medical-Surgical Nursing from Vanderbilt University. In 1978, she took her first faculty position and served as program director for an associate degree program. In 1982, she received her PhD in Higher Education Administration from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. In 1988, Dr. Norman took a position at Tennessee State University. There she has achieved tenure and full professor status. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau National Nursing Honors Society. In 2005, she began her current position as Director of the Masters of Science in Nursing Program.
Contributing faculty, Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sharon Cannon, RN, EdD, ANEF
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.