Training opportunities in preventive cardiology: MSc, Diploma and Certificate in Preventive Cardiology

December 2013Br J Cardiol 2013;20(suppl 3):S1–S19doi:10.5837/bjc.2013.s09 Leave a comment

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Authors: Jennifer Jones, Suzanne Barr, Catriona Jennings, Tim Grove, Kornelia Kotseva, Susan Connolly, Anne Dornhorst, Gary Frost, Paul Bassett, David A Wood

Authors: the following have all contributed to papers in this supplement

Dr Vian Amber⁷
Senior Medical Advisor, MSD; Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, Imperial College London; Honorary Consultant Physician, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Ms Alison Atrey (née Mead)⁶
MyAction Chief Dietitian

Ms Suzanne Barr⁶
Programme Leader, MSc Preventive Cardiology

Mr Paul Bassett¹⁰
Statistician

Dr Timothy J Bowker⁴
Consultant Cardiologist

Dr Adrian Brown⁹
Consultant in Public Health Medicine

Ms Sarah Jane Clements⁵
Lead Nurse, MyAction Westminster Programme

Dr Susan Connolly⁵
Clinical Lead, MyAction Westminster Programme; Consultant Cardiologist, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Ms Caroline Costello¹
Physical Activity Specialist

Dr James Crowley^1,11
Consultant Cardiologist and Croí Medical Director

Dr Anne Dornhurst³
Consultant Physician, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; Honorary Senior Lecturer Imperial College

Dr Gerard Flaherty^1,8
Croí MyAction Medical Officer; Physician and Senior Lecturer in Clinical Medicine and Medical Education

Professor Gary Frost³
Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics; Head of the Nutrition and Dietetic Research Group

Ms Irene Gibson¹
Prevention Nurse Lead and Programmes Manager; Honorary Clinical Fellow, NUI Galway

Mr Tim Grove⁶
Teaching Fellow and Exercise Specialist, Imperial College London; MyAction Westminster Physical Activity Specialist

Ms Catriona Jennings⁶
Cardiovascular Specialist Research Nurse Imperial College London; President, British Association for Nursing in Cardiovascular Care; Vice Chair Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Health

Ms Jennifer Jones^1,6,8
Director of Croí Prevention Programmes, Training and Education; Honorary Senior Lecturer, NUI, Galway; Honorary Research and Teaching Associate, Imperial College London

Ms Claire Kerins¹
Cardiac Specialist Dietitian; Honorary Clinical Fellow, NUI, Galway

Dr Kornelia Kotseva⁶
Senior Clinical Research Fellow, Imperial College London; Consultant Cardiologist, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Dr Mary Seed⁵
Honorary Consulting Physician

Ms Elizabeth L Turner²
Statistician

Ms Anne Marie Walsh¹
Nurse Coordinator

Ms Jane Windle¹
Senior Physiotherapist

Professor David A Wood⁶
Garfield Weston Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine; NIHR Senior Investigator

Ms Christine Yates⁵
MyAction Westminster Programme Manager

Affiliations

Croí, West of Ireland Cardiac Foundation, Croí House, Moyola Lane, Newcastle, Galway, Ireland
Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics and Duke Global Health Institute, Duke Box 2721, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Hammersmith Hospital, DuCane Road, London, W12 0HS
Homerton University Hospital, Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust, Homerton Row, London, E9 6SR
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Charing Cross Hospital, Fulham Palace Road, London, W6 8RF
International Centre for Circulatory Health, Imperial College London, 59–61 North Wharf Road, London, W2 1LA
Merck Sharp & Dohme Ltd, Medical Affairs-General Medicine, Hertford Road, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, EN11 9BU.
National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland
NHS England
Statsconsultancy Ltd, 40 Longwood Lane, Amersham, Bucks, HP7 9EN
University Hospital Galway, Newcastle Road, Galway, Ireland

Conflicts of interest

Vian Amber is employed by MSD

Alison Atrey has received honoraria for advisory boards/travel/lectures from Unilever and TMW.

Susan Connolly has received honoraria from Astra Zeneca, MSD and Unilever.

Gerard Flaherty has received education and travel grants from Astra Zeneca and MSD Ireland.

Kornelia Kotseva is a senior project manager for the DYSIS and ASPIRE-2-PREVENT studies, sponsored by MSD.

Mary Seed has recieved honoraria for lectures from MSD.

David Wood has received an independent investigator’s grant for ASPIRE-2-PREVENT from MSD to Imperial College London; he has received honoraria for invited lectures from MSD/Schering Plough, and for consultancy/advisory boards from MSD.

The following authors all declared no conflict of interest: Suzanne Barr, Paul Bassett, Timothy J Bowker, Adrian Brown, Sarah Jane Clements, Caroline Costello, Jim Crowley, Anne Dornhurst, Gary Frost, Irene Gibson, Tim Grove, Catriona Jennings, Jennifer Jones, Claire Kerins, Elizabeth Turner, Anne Marie Walsh, Jane Windle, Christine Yates

Sponsorship Statement: MSD provided financial support for this publication. The supplement was conceived by the authors. Content and articles were fully developed and written by the authors except the DYSIS article, which was written in collaboration with MSD. Full editorial control of the supplement rested with the authors. The ASPIRE-2-PREVENT study and the Croi MyAction programme, Ireland, were partly funded though unrestricted educational grants by MSD UK and MSD Ireland, respectively. DYSIS was an MSD sponsored study. The supplement was reviewed by MSD for ABPI compliance only.

Insights from the world of cardiology

Introduction

The scientific evidence for cardiovascular (CVD) disease prevention is compelling but, as demonstrated by the EUROASPIRE and ASPIRE-2-PREVENT surveys, translating this evidence into effective patient care in the real-world in clinical practice is challenging.^1,2 However, the same academic group have undertaken a number of trials and have shown that it is possible to implement national and international clinical guidelines and achieve the lifestyle, medical and therapeutic targets associated with reduced cardiovascular events and improved health outcomes.^3-5 In recognising the need to bridge the implementation gap for prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases, the combined research, teaching and clinical expertise at the National Heart and Lung Institute of Imperial College London launched a Masters (MSc), Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) and Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Preventive Cardiology. This programme was initiated in October 2008, offers many unique features and consequently remains the only one of its kind worldwide (box 1).

Box 1. Preventive cardiology at Imperial College London

Unique qualities creating a highly fulfilling student experience

Interdisciplinary and international:Inclusive of health professionals from a variety of backgrounds from all over the world

Flexible learning: All programmes include a taught component, which is combined with online learning, enabling students to work flexibly around other commitments. Students are able to interact with their tutors and fellow students via an advanced online virtual learning environment

Comprehensive and integrated: Our programme includes all aspects of preventive cardiology to include patients with established atherosclerotic disease, the relatives of patients with premature atherosclerotic disease, and also individuals who are asymptomatic, for example those with diabetes and those who are at high multi-factorial risk for cardiovascular disease

Knowledge, practical application and research skills acquisition:Clinical placements are completed across key areas of preventive cardiology practice, e.g. cardiovascular risk reduction clinics, cardiac rehabilitation, diabetes and heart failure, providing the opportunity to be immersed in the practicalities of current service delivery, rather than only learning the theory. The research component provides a strong foundation in practical use of research methods in preventive cardiology, and the translation of research evidence into best practice

Interaction with world leaders:Our teaching faculty comprises national and international leaders and clinical specialists from cardiology, nursing, nutrition, exercise and behavioural medicine. Our programme is based in the International Centre for Circulatory Health and, as a result, draws on considerable teaching expertise and provides high-quality research opportunities in a range of relevant subjects. We also have an expert lecture series allowing our students to interact with world leaders in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease

Imperial College London:Imperial College has a world-renowned reputation and is currently rated in the top 10 universities worldwide

Programme content

The scientific foundation of the programme is lifestyle change (smoking cessation, healthy food choices and physical activity) through behavioural approaches, together with weight management, medical management of blood pressure, blood lipids and blood glucose, and use of cardioprotective drug therapies. All students complete a core compulsory module entitled ‘Preventive Cardiology Theory and Practice’,which includes six themes (box 2). These themes are then explored in greater detail in specialist optional modules. Students, depending on the direction of their studies, also engage in modules in clinical practice (clinical placements), research methods and complete an original research project in the field of preventive cardiology.

Blended programme

This programme aims to be flexible and accommodate each individual’s needs, this arrangement is particularly important for those who are at work and also studying in the programme. Each module starts with a block of face-to-face teaching followed by a number of purposefully designed online learning resources. All of these teaching sessions are recorded using lecture captures, giving our part-time students some flexibility to either attend or alternatively participate via our monitored virtual-learning environment at a convenient time to each individual (figure 1).

Centres of excellence in preventive cardiology

This programme aims to produce graduates equipped to fill specialist posts and set up centres of excellence in preventive cardiology by combining knowledge and skill acquisition with real-world application and research practice – ambassadors of preventive cardiology trained to ‘raise the standards of care in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease’.

For further information contact: [email protected] or visit:
http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/teaching/postgraduate/preventivecardiology/

References

Kotseva K, Wood D, De Backer G et al.; EUROASPIRE Study Group. Cardiovascular prevention guidelines in daily practice: a comparison of EUROASPIRE I, II, and III surveys in eight European countries. Lancet 2009;373:929–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60330-5
Kotseva K, Jennings CS, Turner EL et al.; ASPIRE-2-PREVENT Study Group. ASPIRE-2-PREVENT: a survey of lifestyle, risk factor management and cardioprotective medication in patients with coronary heart disease and people at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the UK. Heart 2012;98:865–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/heartjnl-2011-301603
Wood DA, Kotseva K, Connolly S et al.; EUROACTION Study Group. Nurse-coordinated multidisciplinary, family-based cardiovascular disease prevention programme (EUROACTION) for patients with coronary heart disease and asymptomatic individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease: a paired, cluster-randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2008;371:1999–2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60868-5
Connolly S, Holden A, Turner E et al. MyAction: an innovative approach to prevention of cardiovascular disease in the community. Br J Cardiol 2011;18:171–6. Available from: https://bjcardio.co.uk/2011/08/ myactionaninnovativeapproachtothe preventionofcardiovasculardisease/
Jennings CS, Kotseva K, De Bacquer D et al. EUROACTION preventive cardiology programme plus intensive smoking cessation with Varenicline. Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs 2012;11(suppl 1):S4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1474515112441129

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