Another exciting symposium has ended, but the powerful messages will continue to live on. A tremendous group of speakers shared their wisdom, expertise, and passion for their topics. Highlights from a few of these presentations are presented.
Keynote: Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul
Rather than plunging straight into pathophysiology, the first presentation was offered as a gift to the nurse audience-a self-help method to safeguard against the burnout so commonly seen in caregiving professions. Author LeAnn Thieman challenged nurses to be proactive in identifying the sources of stress in their personal and professional lives, while also recognizing the many joys and benefits that caregiving offers. She shared poignant stories of hope, courage, and strength. Thieman encouraged each member to begin developing their own daily self-care plan immediately.
Coronary Heart Disease in Women: 2005
Nanette Wenger, MD (Professor of Medicine, Cardiology, at Emory University), never disappoints. In this enlightening presentation, she provided the latest evidence for the difference in clinical outcomes of coronary events and procedures in women and men. She explained data from the GUSTO IIb trial that showed women with acute coronary syndromes were more likely to have unstable angina than myocardial infarction (MI), but a better prognosis than men. In the CRUSADE trial, women with non-STEMI had greater hospital mortality than men, yet received less-intensive treatments. Other data show women under 50 to have twice the hospital mortality from MI than comparable men. The National Registry of Myocardial Infarction reports that women still receive less revascularization procedures than men and, when they do, have greater bleeding risks. Dr Wenger reminded us that women continue to have a greater CABG operative risk, especially among those with diabetes or who need urgent surgery. She summarized the differences in clinical presentations of CHD, how management strategies differ between the sexes, and suggested that underutilization of proven beneficial therapies was a major contributor to the poorer outcomes in women.
Powerful Partnerships: Best Nursing Practices for REACHING African American Women With the Prevention Message
Cheryl Taylor, PhD, RN, MN (Director, Office of Research at Southern University and A&M College, School of Nursing), emphasized the need to move beyond just gender issues and also focus on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care. She stated that nurses providing care for African Americans must bridge the racial divide and incorporate culturally relevant assessment and treatment guidelines in their daily practice. She challenged all providers to become culturally competent and to optimize patient health by treating literacy and language barriers. Dr Taylor shared the successes of Project Joy, a faith-based cardiovascular health promotion project that incorporated the church environment and church culture to strengthen the standard behavioral group interventions. She ended by sharing information about REACH 2010 @ the Heart of New Orleans, an upcoming five-year nurse-led demonstration project to support a variety of community coalitions in the design, implementation, and evaluation of unique community-driven strategies to eliminate healthcare disparities.
Vascular Biology: The Root of It All
Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD (Director and Professor of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York), took us to the core of the atherothrombotic process. He provided impressive MRI images of the structure of high-risk plaque and emphasized the key role that inhibition of tissue factor or elements in the tissue factor pathway plays in further improving outcomes in atherothrombosis.
Successful Strategies for the Failing Heart
Nancy Albert, MSN, RN, CCRN, CAN (Director of Nursing Research, Cleveland Clinic Foundation), provided an extensive overview of the new or changed recommendations for treating heart failure. She highlighted the required core polypharmacy in management, the newer intravenous and experimental drug agents, cardiac resynchronization and implantable defibrillator therapies, and newer surgical approaches as examples of therapies with a widening scope of practice. She empowered nurses to be assertive in planning and providing core therapies that may improve the lives of patients.
It is beyond the scope of this summary to highlight all of the extraordinary presentations that focused on topics such as hypertension, metabolic syndrome, evaluation of women with suspected CAD, the obesity epidemic, acute coronary syndromes, and the myriad of breakout session topics. Be sure to check the next issue of JCN, which will showcase the poster abstract winners.
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.