Approach to a patient with cardiovascular disease

Description

In a healthcare setting, a primary care physician faces many challenges. Whether the geographical area served is urban or rural, they are often the first point of contact and face a variety of patients. Usually, the most concerning or stressful situation in that setting is the cardiac patient. They present with myriad symptoms and each of those symptoms (for example, breathlessness or chest pain) can have high false positives. However, the time available to come up with a differential diagnosis and the tools available to do that can be severely limited. Dr. M. Chenniappan’s goal for this class is to provide a refresher to the most fundamental clinical concepts in cardiology, integrate the latest evidences and international best practices and provide a framework which will improve the clarity of thought of clinicians facing a potential cardiac patient. What symptoms to ask for? What signs to watch out? What are the immediate investigations one should ask? When to refer the patient? These are perhaps the most important questions that a clinician should know the answer to. As expected, the master answers the above questions with his own trademark simplicity and comprehensibility. This has been something that Dr Chenniappan has been doing for decades and teaching Cardiology to clinicians who are not cardiologists themselves is what he excels in. Ideal for learners as well clinicians looking to refresh their knowledge, the lecture series are divided into clinical evaluation including arterial pulse, JVP and auscultation proceeding to algorithms necessary to approach each patient with a set of findings and then proceeding to modules on echocardiogram explaining the basics of echocardiogram and what do we need to know, how to use it in emergency and critical care and finally a module on stress testing.