2.0 Continuing Education Hours

According to the American Heart Association, almost 5.7 million Americans of all ages are affected by heart failure. Overall, it is responsible for more hospitalizations than all forms of cancer combined, and for medicare patients, heart failure is the number one cause of hospitalization. Due to the improved survival of patients with acute myocardial infarction and with a population that continues to age, heart failure will continue to increase in prominence as a major health problem in the United States. Currently, heart failure accounts for 34% of cardio-vascular deaths in the United States.  In this class, the pathophysiology, treatment and nursing interventions for the heart failure patient will be discussed.