Cardiovascular-focused health care professionals can make a significant impact in both hypertension and stroke risk reduction and management, leading to positive patient outcomes that would otherwise not be attainable. Cardiovascular (CV) nurses are well-positioned to address risk reduction strategies and to help patients understand the importance of lowering risk.

In December 2024, PCNA hosted a Cardio Connections virtual summit to help educate, empower and engage healthcare professionals in applying guideline-directed actions with patients in clinical practice. This article will provide a brief recap of the Summit and share some clinical takeaways for practice.

Each session was recorded and is available for continuing education contact hours. View the recordings at the links below or visit pcna.net/professional-development/.

Hypertension Risk Reduction

In the session Managing Hypertension: The Silent Killer, faculty member Maria Bonanni, MSN, CNRP, discussed the increasing prevalence and impact of hypertension in the U.S. population.

Hypertension is labeled a ‘silent killer’ because individuals with the disease may not have any noticeable symptoms. Undetected, the disease may wreak havoc over time, leading to issues such as heart attacks or strokes, heart failure, kidney disease, and more.

One simple way to detect hypertension is the regular, accurate measurement of blood pressure using a validated device. This allows changes over time to be identified and treated.

It is important for health care professionals to identify hypertension, but also to determine the type. Does a patient have primary, secondary, responsive, or resistant hypertension? Each type will have a different treatment, which may involve lifestyle modifications, as well as possible medication(s).

To watch this session and obtain continuing education contact hours, check out the on-demand course, Managing Hypertension: The Silent Killer.

Note: If you are interested in additional details on resistant hypertension, consider watching or listening to the 3-episode mini-series of PCNA’s Heart to Heart Nurses podcast. Epsides include Detection and Management of Hypertension, Renal Denervation in Clinical Practice, and Hypertension Management: Measurement, Medication Impacts & Team-Based Care.

Reducing Stroke Risk

In the second session of the virtual event, Preventing Stroke: Applying the Guidelines, faculty member Dawn Aycock, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FAHA, FPCNA, FAAN reviewed the 2024 Guideline for the Primary Prevention of Stroke, and its application in clinical practice.

Stroke continues to be a leading cause of death of disability in the U.S. and across the globe—and incidence is anticipated to increase over time.

While primordial prevention (avoiding the development of any risk factors) is most desirable and carries the least amount of risk. Primary prevention at any age may also reduce the risk of stroke, and it involves addressing risk factors such as overweight/obesity, unhealthy eating habits, sedentary activity level, poor sleep, smoking, and diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.

Working in partnership with patients, health care professionals can make a significant impact on reducing the risk of stroke through a multi-part endeavor:

• Regular screening throughout an individual’s life, including addressing adverse social determinants of health
• Encouraging and supporting heathy lifestyle habits such as diet and physical activity
• Identify and implement guideline-directed pharmacologic prevention strategies, such as the use of antihypertensives, anticoagulants, and GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors

To learn more and obtain complimentary CE contact hours, view the recorded session in our on-demand learnign library.