Module information
Details
- Title
- Primary and Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
- Type
- Stage One
- Module code
- HPS114
- Requirement
- Compulsory
Module objective
By the end of this module the Clinical Scientist in HSST, with respect to primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, will be able to critically analyse, synthesise, evaluate and apply knowledge, and perform the specialist assessment and treatment of patients (both adults and children) with risk factors for vascular disease while demonstrating the attitudes and behaviours necessary for the role of a Consultant Clinical Scientist.
Knowledge and understanding
By the end of this module the Clinical Scientist in HSST will critically analyse, synthesise, evaluate and apply their expert knowledge of primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, including:
- how to investigate and manage patients with systemic hypertension (both primary and secondary), lipid disorders, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, smoking and family history of cardiovascular disease;
- how to calculate an individual patient’s absolute risk of cardiovascular disease on the basis of standard risk factors;
- the difference between relative and absolute risk;
- the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease.
Technical and clinical skills
By the end of this module the Clinical Scientist in HSST will be able to demonstrate a critical understanding of current research and its application to the performance, adaptation and mastery of a range of clinical and communication skills, and will:
- assess the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in the community in which they work;
- manage risk factors appropriately for individual patients.
Attitudes and behaviours
By the end of this module the Clinical Scientist in HSST will be expected to critically evaluate their own response to both normal and complex situations. They will consistently demonstrate the professional attributes and insights required of a Clinical Scientist in HSST working within the limits of professional competence, referring as appropriate to senior staff, and will:
- appreciate the importance of risk factor management;
- appreciate racial and regional variation in cardiovascular risk factor distribution;
- emphasise the central role of patient education;
- offer advice and support to family members with familial disease;
- make active efforts to encourage patients to adopt a healthier lifestyle with specific emphasis on risk factors;
- appreciate the importance of other specialists, such as dieticians, diabetologists and nurse specialists.