2023 Cholesterol Summit
How do we collectively combat the health crisis of high cholesterol? With 93.9 million American adults 20 years and older with high (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol levels, the impacts are felt across the life span, in every setting with patients, and even around our dining room tables.1
Join the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association on May 18, 2023, for a daylong conversation to help increase our knowledge, and apply best practices, for the prevention and treatment of hypercholesterolemia, dyslipidemia, and related disease states. The 2023 Cholesterol Summit will cover the following topics:
* Inherited Genetic Lipid Disorders: An Overview
* Primordial Prevention of Dyslipidemia in the Younger Years
* Nutrition Interventions Across the Lifespan: A Case Study Approach
* Women's Lipid Health Across the Lifespan
* Access to Lipid-Lowering Medications
Led by clinical experts and including patient perspectives, the Cholesterol Summit will provide healthcare professionals with actionable information that can help move the needle on this persistent health crisis. An emphasis will be placed on overcoming social determinants of health to improve access and adherence to lipid-lowering medications.
Learn more at PCNA.net/CholesterolSummit.
Obesity Provider Resources
More than a cosmetic concern, obesity is a chronic disease affecting 42.4% of adults.2,3 To address this complex chronic disease, the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association now has available 2 new podcast episodes and a related webinar that address the impact of obesity on cardiovascular disease outcomes, best practices for advocating for our patients with obesity, and health equity impacts on obesity and cardiovascular disease. The Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association is partnering with Medical Alley on the campaign.
Check out the Heart to Heart Nurses podcast episodes and the obesity webinar at PCNA.net/Obesity.
Peripheral Arterial Disease Patient Education
Lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a common cardiovascular disease associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and quality of life impairment.4 Because of the systemic nature of atherosclerosis, those with PAD are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease events, including myocardial infarction and stroke.
The Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association has created a new PAD patient resource tool, which includes a screening checklist of risk factors, as well as PAD signs, symptoms, diagnostic testing, and treatment. Find the resource at PCNA.net/PAD.
New Tool for Families With Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia
Patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia-and their family members of all ages-need to understand the importance of family screening for the disease. This new tool includes information for patients plus age-appropriate information for children ages 8 to 12 years, as well as young teens. The resource also highlights the importance of healthy habits and medication adherence.
Find the resource at PCNA.net/FH.
Cascade Screening: Importance and Impacts
Healthcare professionals often interact with family members as well as patients, and for those with genetically transmitted diseases, this connection takes on new urgency. Genetic testing may contribute to early diagnosis of disease in a patient and his/her relatives, leading to earlier treatment and improved outcomes-including decreased rates of morbidity and mortality.
Cascade screening (also called cascade testing) is a systematic process to identify individuals within a family who may be at risk for a hereditary condition. When one family member is given a diagnosis of the condition, testing is recommended for at-risk biologic relatives. For example, when a patient is given a diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia, close biological relatives (parents, siblings, children) would be encouraged to have a screening genetic test completed, to determine whether they, too, have the disease.
Along with primary care and specialists in cardiology care, genetic counselors can guide patients and families not only through the testing process but also the associated emotions, and even navigating insurance (because the procedure is not necessarily covered).
Walk, Exercise, or Drive With CVD Experts: Heart to Heart Nurses Podcast
Learn something new while you exercise, drive, organize, or relax. The Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association's Heart to Heart Nurses podcast brings cardiovascular subject-matter experts to you with topics such as hypertension, genetics, obesity, heart failure, and more. Some episodes are available for continuing education contact hours. Find episodes through your regular podcast source and at pcna.net/podcast.
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