Women and Coronary Heart Disease
Course #33224 - $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.
More than one in three women in the United States suffers from heart disease. This fact has stimulated the lay and scientific communities, and heart disease is now gaining recognition as a significant health issue for women. The purpose of this course is to discuss realities and uncertainties about heart disease in women. To date, progress has been made in defining the incidence of heart disease in women and how the two genders differ in regard to cardiac anatomy and physiology. In addition, both traditional and gender-specific coronary risk factors have been studied, along with the reliability of conventional cardiac diagnostic tests in women. However, many uncertainties remain because, for many years, women have largely been excluded from research on the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. In particular, cardiac symptomatology of women may differ from the classic textbook cases seen in men. Clinical outcomes of women receiving standard medical and surgical treatments remain another area of uncertainty. Healthcare professionals who participate in this course will be able to identify the unique challenges that face women, from prevention and diagnosis to treatment issues. Patients will benefit from this advanced knowledge base as healthcare providers strengthen their roles as patient advocates and educators. This will help women to receive appropriate and timely treatment, as well as preventive and follow-up care.
- INTRODUCTION
- OVERVIEW OF WOMEN AND CHD
- CARDIOVASCULAR RISK PROFILE IN WOMEN
- PRIMARY CHD PREVENTION
- CARDIAC DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
- CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF CHD IN WOMEN
- THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS
- IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE
- CASE STUDIES
- CASE STUDY ANALYSES
- IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
- RESOURCES
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for all nurses in family practice or medical/surgical areas, especially critical care or cardiac units.
The purpose of this course is to identify the unique challenges that face women with heart disease, including prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Describe the morbidity and mortality associated with CHD, especially in women.
- Describe how female cardiac anatomy and physiology differs from men's.
- Discuss the role that traditional and nontraditional risk factors play in the development of CHD in women.
- List sex- and gender-specific risk factors for CHD in women.
- Discuss primary CHD prevention strategies for women.
- Identify reasons CHD is more complex to diagnose in women.
- Compare and contrast the efficacy of noninvasive and invasive cardiac diagnostic tests in women.
- Describe the basic types and variations of angina and their prevalence in women.
- Compare and contrast the usual clinical course of women with angina versus myocardial infarction (MI).
- Discuss common complications seen in women post-MI.
- Discuss clinical outcomes of medical treatment options in women with CHD.
- Discuss the preoperative status of women undergoing coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgery and implications for postoperative outcomes.
- Describe clinical outcomes associated with female participation in formal cardiac rehabilitation programs.
- Identify nursing diagnoses and appropriate nursing interventions applicable to women with CHD during the acute phase.
- Identify reasons women have historically been excluded from clinical trials related to the diagnosis and treatment of CHD.
- Identify areas where further research is needed in relation to CHD and women.
Margo A. Halm, RN, PhD, NEA-BC, FAAN, received an Associate Degree of Nursing in 1981 from Iowa Central Community College, a BSN and Master of Arts in Nursing from the University of Iowa, in 1985 and 1987 respectively, and a PhD from the University of Minnesota in 2005. She is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurse's, and Sigma Theta Tau International. Dr. Halm has presented nationally and internationally, coauthored articles, and conducted nursing research studies on topics such as epidural analgesia, complementary therapies, women and heart disease, family presence during resuscitation and other family-centered interventions. Currently, Dr. Halm practices as the Associate Chief Nurse Executive of Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice at the VA Portland Health Care System in Portland, OR.
Contributing faculty, Margo A. Halm, RN, PhD, NEA-BC, FAAN, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD
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.