A Letter From the President Jerilyn Allen, ScD, RN, FAAN, FPCNA
I write to you as I prepare to take over as president of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) for 2010-2011. It is indeed an honor to serve this vibrant organization of gifted practitioners, talented leaders, and dedicated staff. In these difficult economic times and era of healthcare reform, PCNA stands front and center as the premiere nursing organization dedicated to preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD) through assessing risk, facilitating lifestyle changes, and guiding individuals to achieve treatment goals.
What is on the horizon for PCNA? As the new president, I would like to share several of our goals for the next year. A priority is increasing involvement of the membership in all activities of the organization. I am pleased to point out that we have numerous members who have joined our active committees, including the Membership Committee, Abstract Review Committee, Continuing Education Committee, and the Communications Committee. In addition, we have several members developing exciting projects for the education of nurses and our patients, one of the hallmarks of our organization. This was the first year we invited abstract submitters to present their work as oral presentations at the annual symposium, a wonderful addition to the scientific program. The PCNA Chapter leaders have been busy promoting educational programs and increasing membership within the 18 regional chapters. Thank you to all who continue to make us so successful.
Another priority is the development of a mentorship program to help prepare the future nurse leaders of cardiovascular prevention. Several activities at the annual symposium contribute to leadership development. We anticipate expanding our initiatives in this area throughout the year, so stay tuned for future opportunities to get involved.
As we strive to be the "go-to" organization for professionals and the public who are searching for CVD prevention information and tools, we anticipate an increased focus on patient products. The intention is to empower our patients for positive health behaviors and effective self-management.
In September 2010, members of the board will meet in Washington, DC, to lobby for CVD prevention. We hope these advocacy efforts will make a contribution to the recognition of prevention policy makers as the most cost-effective means to address CVD, the No. 1 killer of men and women in the United States.
International outreach is a significant goal in our 10-year strategic plan as we work to increase global recognition of PCNA and the leading role nurses play in prevention. Our pocket guide has been distributed in Kenya, and members of the board have represented us at international meetings in Ireland, Argentina, Germany, Spain, Chile, Hong Kong, and Canada.
These are challenging but exciting times in healthcare. I am convinced that PCNA will be as vibrant and strong as ever in the coming year. Thank you for the opportunity to lead as we continue our journey together.
Pamela Robertson Honored With 2010 Terry Thomas Clinical Practice Award
Pamela Robertson, RN, was presented with the 2010 Terry Thomas Clinical Practice Award on Thursday, April 15, during the Opening Reception at the PCNA Annual Symposium in Schaumburg, Illinois. This award recognizes and encourages excellence in clinical practice of cardiovascular prevention by nurses.
Ms. Robertson has served as the coordinator of the Cardiovascular& Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center, Lincoln, Nebraska, since 1996. This center started in a single room with 6 pieces of exercise equipment and a telemetry monitor. Under Ms. Robertson's leadership, the center has grown with 4,450 acute outpatient cardiac visits; 1,264 acute outpatient pulmonary visits; 22,850 maintenance visits; and 1,425 inpatient visits per year.
She facilitated the development of a community-wide heart support group for women. Ms. Robertson serves as a member of the hospital-wide patient education council and is a member of a task force responsible for the development of a computerized education program for nurses to enhance their skills when providing discharge instructions. "I have known and worked with Pamela for many years and can tell you that when there is a patient, peer, hospital, or community need for cardiovascular education, she does not hesitate to develop and initiate an excellent plan to fulfill that need. This award describes everything she has accomplished over her nursing career," said Robertson's colleague Monica Stohlmann, BSN.
In addition to providing her knowledge to clinical practice, Ms. Robertson was also instrumental in creating an internship program for students in the study of exercise science. The program now extends beyond the borders of Nebraska into several universities in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Kentucky.
Congratulations to Ms. Robertson on receiving this prestigious award!
PCNA Offers New Forms for Home Blood Pressure Monitoring
The American Heart Association estimates that 1 in 3 adults have hypertension, affecting 74 million people in the United States. Treatment goals for patients with hypertension are a blood pressure (BP) of less than 140/90mmHg overall and less than 130/80mmHg in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney failure. For some, these numbers are not easy to achieve. Home and ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) can be a crucial part of patient care. Patients who may benefit from using these monitoring devices include those with:
* suspected "white-coat" hypertension with no organ damage,
* apparent drug-resistant hypertension,
* hypotensive symptoms on antihypertensive medications,
* episodic hypertension, and
* autonomic dysfunction. When using home BP monitoring
When using home BP monitoring (HBPM), 135/85mmHgis generally considered to be hypertensive. Clinical decisions are based on 2 morning and 2 evening readings every day for 1 week, discarding the readings on the first day. This will then give a total of 12 readings on which to make clinical decisions. Contraindications to using HBPM include patients who have atrial fibrillation or other dysrhythmias with frequent ectopic beats, as well as patients who may become very anxious resulting in elevated readings.
Ambulatory BP monitoring measures BP at regular intervals (every 15-30 minutes) throughout both day and night. The ABPM is fully automatic and can record BP for 24 hours or longer, while patients go about their activities of daily living, work, and sleep. Clinical information determined by ABPM is the true, or mean BP, the diurnal rhythm of BP, and BP variability. The PCNA provides an up-to-date list of recommended sphygmomanometers and validated ambulatory monitors on the Web site. Additional information can be found on the DABL Educational Web site (http://www.dableducational.org) and on the British Hypertension Society Web site (http://www.bhsoc.org/default.stm).
Unlike HBPM, ABPM is a reimbursable procedure. Steps to take in the reimbursement process, specific CPT reimbursement codes for providers, and total reimbursement costs are included in the HBPM monitoring guidelines provided in PCNA's Online Forms Guide. The PCNA also offers clinical forms to use with patients needing ABPM or HBPM. Visit http://www.pcna.net/clinical/forms/ for a complete list of these and other available clinical and patient education forms and tools.
PCNA Inducts 2010 Fellows at Annual Symposium
On Friday, April 16, 15 PCNA members were inducted as Fellows at the 2010 Annual Symposium in Schaumburg, Illinois. These individuals were recognized for their excellence in leadership and volunteer service to PCNA.
Congratulations to the following 2010 PCNA fellows:
Nancy Artinian, PhD, RN,
Detroit, Michigan
Janie Baranyay, RN, MSN, APN,
Lakehurst, New Jersey
Pamela Belfiore, RN, Kent, Ohio
Cheryl Dennison, RN, ANP, PhD,
Baltimore, Maryland
Laurie Kopin MS, RN, ANP,
Rochester, New York
Sandra Kreul, MSN, ARNP, CLS,
Tampa, Florida
Maria Teresa Lira, RN, CVNS,
Santiago, Chile
Donna Louie, RN, BSN, CDE,
Palo Alto, California
Jill Lucca, MSN, RN,
Duluth, Minnesota
Jan McAlister, BSN, MSN,
Smyrna, Georgia
Kim Newlin, BS, RN, MS, CNS,
NP-C, Granite Bay, California
Judith Schipper, MS, NP-C, CLS,
New York, New York
Eileen Stuart-Shor, ANP, PhD,
Boston, Massachusetts
Robin Wedell, RN, BSN,
Palo Alto, California
Kathleen Zarling, MS, APRN-BC,
RN-BC, CNS, Rochester,
Minnesota
Thank you for your continued dedication to PCNA and the prevention and management of CVD!
PCNA Partners Create New Clinical Assessment Resources for Nurses
The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, has partnered with PCNA and 13 other organizations in a 4-year collaborative effort called Resourcefully Enhancing Aging in Specialty Nursing (REASN). The primary goal of REASN is to create new, sustainable educational products and resources to enhance the competence of nurses in caring for older adults.
The REASN project provided funding to PCNA to develop cardiovascular clinical practice resources for nurses who provide care to the older adult. These resources are part of a publication of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, called the Try This: Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults. The series is a set of assessment tools that focus on a topic specific to the older adult population. The goal of the Try This series is to provide knowledge of best practices in the care of older adults that are easily accessible, easy to understand, easy to implement, and encourage best practices by all direct-care nurses. Each Try This issue is a 2-page document that includes why the topic is important when caring for older patients and an assessment tool that can be administered in 20 minutes or less.
PCNA recently completed the project, which resulted in 2 Try This documents developed by board member Lola Coke, PhD, entitled: (1) "Cardiac Risk Assessment of the Older Cardiovascular Patient: The Framingham Global Risk Assessment Tools" and (2) "Vascular Risk Assessment of the Older Cardiovascular Patient: The Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI)." Both the cardiac risk and vascular risk assessment tools include information on performing a comprehensive history and physical examination of the older adult in each area and explains the tool to determine the level of cardiac or vascular risk. References for further study are also included in the tool.
PCNA recognizes the unique needs of the older adult and is committed to raising awareness about the importance of providing specialized care to the geriatric patient. In addition to developing the cardiovascular Try This tools, PCNA provides a section on its Web site (http://www.pcna.net) designated for Geriatric Resources, for which it was just recognized with the Hartford Institute Web Award for Geriatric Excellence. PCNA was 1 of 2 organizations among Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing partners to receive this honor. It is awarded to associations that have consistently taken on the commitment to include a geriatric presence, including resources on their association Web sites for their members. Criteria used to determine the awardees were accessibility to geriatric content, integration of content into association Web site design, navigation and links, and ease of use. PCNA was very honored to receive this award.
PCNA's online geriatric section includes links to the complete Try This series, which can also be found at http://www.ConsultGeriRN.org. Members of the PCNA Board serve on a Geriatric Committee with a designated geriatric Web liaison to ensure that aging issues are incorporated in PCNA educational initiatives and are made available to all members or anyone who accesses the PCNA Web site. PCNA continues to move to a higher level of engagement in geriatric cardiovascular care, and geriatric-specific information will be continually included in educational publications, online programs, and all that PCNA does in promoting nurses as leaders in CVD primary and secondary prevention of the older adult.
PCNA Releases New and Updated Patient Education Materials
Childhood Obesity, Hypertension, Triglycerides and HDL, Antiplatelet Therapy, and Angina
In response to the many requests for expanded patient materials, PCNA has updated existing materials and developed several new patient education tools. PCNA is happy to be able to offer resources that benefit nursing practice and ultimately improve patient care. All of the patient resources listed below are free and have been reviewed by experts on the topic and piloted with patients. In addition, all have been developed with consideration for health literacy, understanding that some patients may not comprehend even basic medical terms. Each resource is briefly described below.
New Materials
Healthcare providers are well aware of the growing obesity epidemic in American youth. Many causes have been identified as the culprit of this dangerous trend including inactivity, poor eating habits, and lack of family support. PCNA, in collaboration with the National Association of Margarine Manufacturers, has developed a patient-education Web site entitled "Family at Heart," which addresses risk factors for heart disease, leading a heart-healthy lifestyle through nutrition and physical activity, interactive games and activities for children, meal-planning tips, heart-healthy recipes, and food substitutions. Also included is a section describing how parents can make small changes to better their family's heart health. Healthcare providers will benefit from the scientific support, research news, and resources sections to improve patient care and learn where to find additional tools and resources for their practice and with patients. Visit http://www.familyatheart.org for more information about this campaign to fight childhood obesity.
PCNA has just released in 2010 a patient tool on hypertension entitled "Blood Pressure: How do you measure up?" This brochure provides information on home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM), exercise and nutrition, behavior change strategies, and medication therapies. Also included are interactive checklists and quizzes, which reinforce knowledge retention and personalization.
Also available in tear-pad format is the new patient resource on "Antiplatelet Therapy: What You Need to Know." Included is an explanation about why the patient is taking antiplatelet medication, how to take antiplatelet medicines, and the importance of a heart-healthy diet and daily exercise. Both sets of tear-pads are available to PCNA members and may also be accessed by healthcare providers in the form of a downloadable PDF found at http://www.pcna.net.
Updated Materials
In 2009, PCNA updated the "Triglycerides and HDL: What You Need to Know" patient tear-pads. This 2-page education tool contains an outline of easy-to-read risk reduction strategies for lowering triglycerides and raising high-density lipoprotein through nutrition, physical activity, and pharmacotherapy.
The popular Get Tough on Angina resources are currently being reviewed and updated. Visit http://www.pcna.net for information about the future release of the revised patient handbook. This 29-page tool provides persons with angina and their families with important information such as causes and triggers of angina, risk factors for developing angina, available tests and treatments for angina, and how to manage the condition. A patient brochure, which is a condensed version of the handbook, will also be available.
Healthcare professionals may order any of these free printed resources by calling 1-866-620-6947. Visit http://www.pcna.net for publication reference numbers. Patients may download copies of these publications by visiting http://www.pcna.net.
Section Description
The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing is the official journal of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association. PCNA is the leading nursing organization dedicated to preventing cardiovascular disease through assessing risk, facilitating lifestyle changes, and guiding individuals to achieve treatment goals.