Atrial Fibrillation: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Improving Patient Outcomes, provides a current and comprehensive update on path physiology, epidemiology, management strategies of rate control, pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches to rhythm control, risk stratification for stroke and bleeding, anticoagulant therapy, and left atrial occlusion devices. The contributions by experienced internists, cardiologists, electrophysiologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, pharmacists, internists, nurse practitioners, and nurse educators provide a unique perspective. Case studies of paroxysmal, persistent, and permanent atrial provide clinical context incorporating recent evidence and best practices for the multidisciplinary approach to improving patient outcomes. “The physician is inundated with information, and needs all of this to be reduced and summarized in a readable form. This cannot be done simply by technical editing because it involves real expertise to pick the “jewels for the crown.” This has been accomplished so well by the authors who have contributed to this book. The result is a gem — a source of enlightenment for all the many clinicians who care for patients suffering from this ubiquitous arrhythmia. I read it from cover to cover in about three hours, and learned much which is new and useful to my practice. It is the best small book that I know dealing with this big subject.” -From the foreword by A. John Camm, MD

This volume, developed by the Observatory together with OECD, provides an overall conceptual framework for understanding and applying strategies aimed at improving quality of care. Crucially, it summarizes available evidence on different quality strategies and provides recommendations for their implementation. This book is intended to help policy-makers to understand concepts of quality and to support them to evaluate single strategies and combinations of strategies.

This issue of Heart Failure Clinics examines the critical role of team-based care in the management of patients with heart failure. Articles address Team-Based Care for Prevention, Patients Hospitalized with Heart Failure, Transitions of Care, Outpatients, Managing Cardiac Comorbidities, Managing Non-cardiac Conditions, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Training, External Telemonitoring, Ambulatory Hemodynamic Cardiac Device Monitoring, Advanced Heart Failure, and Palliative and End-of-Life Care.

Prehospital Management of Acute STEMI: Practical Approaches and International Strategies for Early Intervention, the second volume in the Cardiovascular Team Approach Series, discusses the importance of coordinated prehospital care of STEMI with a practical focus on early detection and early intervention. Topics include: ECG acquisition and STEMI specific interpretationTelemedicine and regional triage centersThe increasingly important role of nurses and paramedic personnel Additionally, gain an international perspective as authors from multiple countries discuss their experiences with diverse systems that manage prehospital STEMI recognition and care.

Acute Coronary Syndrome: Urgent and Follow-up Care is a must-read for all those involved in the care of ACS, including EMS, nurses, advanced practice providers as well as physicians. This book not only reviews the causes of ACS, but also provides evidence-based acute and follow-up treatment recommendations that incorporate the perspectives of all those involved in the care of these patients. Epidemiology, pathophysiology, and outcomes of acute coronary syndromesThe role of EMS in the triage of the ACS patientEvaluation and treatment of the ACS patient in the emergency departmentPharmacologic management of the ACS patientFollow-up care of the ACS patientThe role of the team in carrying out successful guideline-driven care

This User’s Guide is intended to support the design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, and quality evaluation of registries created to increase understanding of patient outcomes. For the purposes of this guide, a patient registry is an organized system that uses observational study methods to collect uniform data (clinical and other) to evaluate specified outcomes for a population defined by a particular disease, condition, or exposure, and that serves one or more predetermined scientific, clinical, or policy purposes. A registry database is a file (or files) derived from the registry. Although registries can serve many purposes, this guide focuses on registries created for one or more of the following purposes: to describe the natural history of disease, to determine clinical effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of health care products and services, to measure or monitor safety and harm, and/or to measure quality of care. Registries are classified according to how their populations are defined. For example, product registries include patients who have been exposed to biopharmaceutical products or medical devices. Health services registries consist of patients who have had a common procedure, clinical encounter, or hospitalization. Disease or condition registries are defined by patients having the same diagnosis, such as cystic fibrosis or heart failure. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews.

Clinics Collections: Heart Disease draws from Elsevier's robust Clinics Review Articles database to provide multidisciplinary teams, including cardiologists, surgeons, endocrinologists, and pediatricians, with practical clinical advice on this highly prevalent disease and its comorbidities. Clinics Collections: Heart Disease guides readers on how to apply current best practices in the treatment of depression to everyday practice to help overcome patient challenges and complications, keep up with new and advanced treatment methods, and improve patient outcomes. - Areas of focus include treatment of heart disease in pediatric and adult care, geriatric patients, and special populations. - Each article begins with keywords and key points for immediate access to the most critical information. - Articles are presented in an easy-to-digest and concisely worded format.

This book provides up-to-date resources and examples of outcome measures, tools and methods that can be used by APNs in their quest to keep pace with new developments in the rapidly expanding field of outcome measurement. The chapter authors, recognized expert practitioners, offer invaluable insight into the process of conducting outcomes assessments in all APN practice, including the clinical nurse, nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist and certified nurse midwife practice specialties. Detailed figures, tables, and examples of outcome studies from actual research in APN practice make this an essential resource for evaluating the true impact the advanced practice nurse has on the delivery and fulfillment of care.

Written by internationally renowned leaders in their field and relevant to all practicing clinicians, this textbook comprehensively covers all aspects of heart failure, and suggests the optimal evidence-based management for heart failure patients.

For many years, there has been a great deal of work done on chronic congestive heart failure while acute heart failure has been considered a difficult to handle and hopeless syndrome. However, in recent years acute heart failure has become a growing area of study and this is the first book to cover extensively the diagnosis and management of this complex condition. The book reflects the considerable amounts of new data reported and many new concepts which have been proposed in the last 3-4 years looking at the epidemiology, diagnostic and treatment of acute heart failure.