Heart Failure - Wiley Nursing by Christopher Nicholson Paperback

Book Synopsis

This book provides a complete, easy-to-use handbook for nurses who see patients with heart failure. In recent years heart failure has become a high priority in health care. With more nurses caring for patients with heart failure and making decisions that are often complex, there is a clear need for those nurses to have access to good quality clinical information and guidance. This book is designed to be a practical, 'one-stop', handbook for the practitioner, supported by case studies and up-todate references throughout, providing all the topics the Practitioner or student may need in their work with patients with heart failure.

From the Back Cover

Caring for people with heart failure is challenging and with the numbers of patients increasing every year, healthcare professionals are under pressure to provide appropriate, clinically and cost effective heart failure services. Heart Failure: A Clinical Nursing Handbook offers practical information that considers concerns raised by patients, questions asked by student nurses and clinical issues that arise frequently. The introduction examines the epidemiology, physiology, causes and outcomes of heart failure, whilst continuing chapters explore:

• Diagnosis and assessment: past medical history, the role of clinical assessment, medication reviews and the use of investigations.
• Treatment: the impact of education and lifestyle, exercise physiology, the role of medicines and invasive procedures and end stage heart failure.
• Policy and service issues: the historical perspective, specialist services, funding and patient participation and caseload management.

Also discussed is the setting up and running of a heart failure service - the processes, documents, staffing, costs, data handling and business case issues that need to be understood. Practical techniques and tips to support patient understanding, minimise adverse events and treat side effects are also given to help the reader in their practice.

This concise handbook is ideal for clinicians caring for patients with heart failure, pre-registration nursing students, qualified nurses on cardiology courses and community matrons undertaking advanced practise courses.

Review Quotes

"This book is easy to read, despite having minimal pictures and diagrams. It would be a helpful tool for students, newly qualified nurses and any practitioner requiring a refresher or update on heart failure." (British Journal of Perioperative Nursing, June 2009)

This useful handbook introduces the reader to key issues in enhancing the care of patients with heart failure. (British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, July 2008)

"An absolute must for any practitioner involved in running a heart failure service and should also be on the shelf of every university library, coronary care unit, medical unit and GP surgery." (Nursing Standard, May 2008)

About the Author

Chris Nicholson works as a Heart Failure Specialist Nurse for Central Lancashire PCT where he set up and runs the service. It is a nurse-led, community-based service, with hospital in-reach. The caseload is currently around 350 heart failure patients and the area is a mixed population. Prior to his current job Chris has worked as a nurse and charge nurse on coronary care units in secondary and tertiary cardiac centres and as a Nurse Clinician in Cardiology after having completed his Clinical Masters Degree.