- Practice
Cardiology
AANP Resources by Therapeutic Area
Continuing Education Courses
The AANP CE Center offers a wide variety of continuing education (CE) activities for nurse practitioners (NPs). Members of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) get more, including access to many free activities and significantly discounted rates on others. The activities are updated frequently, and more than a dozen cardiology-related options are currently available.
JAANP Resource Center
Find evidence-based articles, up-to-date guidelines and other resources about cardiology at this resource center, brought to you by the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (JAANP).
NP Tools and Resources
AANP-Developed Resources to Support NPs in Treating Your Patients
- Practice Brief: Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults.
- Practice Brief: 2013 AHA/ACC Guideline on Lifestyle Management to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk.
- Practice Brief: AHA/ACC/HRS Guideline for the Management of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.
Accurate Blood Pressure Measurement
Blood pressure (BP) categories for adults were recently updated in the 2017 Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults. This change means that more patients will be diagnosed with hypertension and require more accurate BP readings in the office or at home. This video addresses the key components necessary for an accurate BP measurement and can be freely shared with your colleagues and staff.
Medications for Type 2 Diabetes
This helpful tool was developed as part of the comprehensive Clinical Advantage Bootcamp: Type 2 Diabetes Management Certificate for Nurse Practitioners CE program. Pharmacologic options for Type 2 diabetes continues to expand. Busy NPs need to stay up to date about the various drug classifications, doses, indications and side effects of the many Type 2 diabetes medications. This is an exciting time for diabetes management with many of the pharmacologic options providing more than one treatment benefit. This all-inclusive resource provides need to know information about non-insulin antihyperglycemic medications, insulin and glucagon.
This tool is supported by independent medical educational grants from Mylan Inc., a Viatris Company, & Novo Nordisk Inc.
The NP’s Guide to Helping Patients Reach Lipid Targets
This practical handout for the NP includes helpful information about the evaluation of patients with lipid abnormalities, risk assessment and treatment decision-making, and strategies for mitigating and managing side effects of statins. Resources are provided for managing the cost of medications.
Supported by an educational grant from Novartis.
Pneumococcal Vaccination Across the Lifespan Integrating Vaccine Recommendations
This informative handout for the NP provides a summary of the FDA-approved pneumococcal vaccines as well as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations for their use. Handy resources in this tool include QR codes that direct you to CDC information and the PneumoRecs VaxAdvisor clinical app which will help you make a quick and accurate determination as to which, if any, pneumococcal vaccination is appropriate for your patient.
This activity is supported by an independent educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc.
Patient Education Tools and Resources
Type 2 Diabetes and Kidney Health
This practical and informational handout has been created to facilitate shared decision-making conversations between the NP and their patients about type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The checklist format enables users to easily keep track of information like recent kidney and diabetes lab tests, blood pressure readings, CKD stage and kidney-protective medications. In order to optimize kidney health, an individualized plan of care — incorporating lifestyle changes, treatments and referrals — is included.
This activity is supported by an independent medical educational grant from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company.
AANP Community
Engage, Learn, Network and Progress Practice in Cardiology
The Cardiology Specialty Practice Group (SPG) offers a unique opportunity to interactively collaborate with colleagues who share an interest or clinical expertise in cardiology. As an SPG member, you’ll have access to a cutting-edge, online forum where you can engage in discussions, document sharing and knowledge exchange with fellow NPs. Come learn, share and help progress the development of theory and practice in cardiology.
External Resources
Conveniently Curated Information From Other Top Sources
There are many resources available for both patients and providers. Some are listed below for your convenience. Inclusion of these links does not imply AANP endorsement.
- CDC VitalSigns™: Preventing 1 Million Heart Attacks and Strokes.
- Evidence-based Guideline for the Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults.
- Know Diabetes by Heart™, a partnership between the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association, offers a number of professional resources for health care providers, including mobile apps, journal articles, guidelines, a podcast series and more.
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents.
- Maine Medical Center Guideline on Management of Bleeding on Dabigatran.
- Million Hearts®.
- Million Hearts A Snapshot: Blood Pressure in the U.S.
- Prevention of Stroke in Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation.
- U.S. Surgeon General's Call to Action to Control Hypertension.