Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital Offering
Five-Day Course in Cardiac Support Technology
HOUSTON (January 15, 2007) -- Mechanical cardiac support is a rapidly increasing treatment for patients with advanced heart failure. Because of the special care required for patients who need cardiac support, we developed a course to train health-care professionals in the use of the various cardiac support technologies. Through lectures, discussions, case presentations, and laboratory exercises, course participants will learn the best treatment options for their patients who require cardiac support.
The course will be delivered by staff from the Texas Heart Institute’s Center for Cardiac Support. The staff’s extensive experience in the field and the Texas Heart Institute’s state-of-the-art facilities provide a unique educational opportunity for participants. The next course will be held February 19-23 at the Texas Heart Institute.
During the 5-day course, participants will study 10 cardiac support systems that are now used worldwide for supporting patients with acute and chronic heart failure. Participants will learn about patient selection and implantation techniques for each system and about supportive medical care for patients. Anticoagulation assessment and management, echocardiography assessment, treatment of right heart failure, preoperative and postoperative medical management, and hospital discharge planning will also be discussed. The history and future of cardiac support technology will be introduced.
The following cardiac support systems will be discussed during the course:
- Abiomed AB Ventricle
- Abiomed BVS 5000
- HeartMate II
- HeartMate XVE
- HeartWare HVAD
- Impella 2.5 and 5.0 VAS
- Jarvik 2000 LVAS
- Levitronix Centrimag
- Micromed-Debakey VAD
- TandemHeart
To maximize learning, each course will be limited to the first 12 registrants. This course will be repeated quarterly or more frequently to accommodate all registrants.
Targeted audience includes physicians, fellows, nurses, perfusionists, physician assistants, clinical engineers, industry representatives, and other health-care professionals who care for patients with heart failure.
At the end of the course, participants should be able to —
- List the cardiac support systems that are intended for short-term use in patients with acute heart failure.
- List the cardiac support systems that are intended for long-term use in patients with chronic heart failure.
- Discuss the critical patient selection issues for each cardiac support system.
- Discuss the pre-implant and post-implant medical care for patients supported by each system.
- Describe all components for each cardiac support system.
- Properly operate and troubleshoot problems for each cardiac support system (in the laboratory).
- List the major complications of cardiac support and discuss measures to avoid these complications.
- Describe emergency or backup measures to be used in the event of a system failure.
- Discuss the hemodynamic differences between support by a continuous flow pump and an intermittent flow pump.
The Texas Heart Institute is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.
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| Tim Myers, far right, instructs students in the
cardiac support laboratory. |
The Texas Heart Institute designates this educational activity for a maximum of 27 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
For registration or more information, contact Tim Myers at the Center for Cardiac Support at 832-355-4723.
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The Texas Heart Institute, founded by world-renowned cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Denton A. Cooley in 1962, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the devastating toll of cardiovascular disease through innovative and progressive programs in research, education and improved patient care. Together with its clinical partner, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, it has been ranked among the top ten cardiovascular centers in the United States by U.S. News & World Report’s annual guide to “America’s Best Hospitals” for the past 16 years. The Texas Heart Institute is also affiliated with the University of Texas (UT) System, which promotes collaboration in cardiovascular research and education among UT and THI faculty at the Texas Heart Institute and other UT components. For more information about the Institute, please visit www.texasheart.org.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System comprises the flagship St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, founded in 1954 by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas; St. Luke’s Community Medical Center–The Woodlands, opened in 2003; St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities, a charity devoted to assessing and enhancing community health, especially among the underserved; and Kelsey-Seybold Management, LLP, overseeing 21 area clinic locations. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital is home to the Texas Heart Institute, founded in 1962 by Denton A. Cooley, MD, and is consistently ranked among the top 10 cardiology and heart surgery centers in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Affiliated with several nursing schools and two medical schools, St. Luke’s serves as the primary adult teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine. St. Luke’s was the first hospital in Texas named a Magnet hospital for nursing excellence, and the Health System has been recognized by FORTUNE as among “100 Best Companies to Work For” and by Houston Business Journal as a top employer in Houston. For more information about St. Luke’s, please visit www.stlukestexas.com.
