Aims

The module aims to cover the key areas underpinning the pathophysiological changes that lead to cardiovascular disease. This knowledge will be used to provide a basis for the rationale for pharmacological intervention in the treatment of disease.

Outline Of Syllabus

The syllabus will be divided into a series of cardiovascular clinical conditions. Each case will consist of a clinical presentation where the underpinning pathophysiological changes will be examined in detail. This will be used as the basis on which to examine in detail the rational used of drugs to treat cardiovascular disease. The sessions will comprise examining the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, adverse drug reactions, drug interactions and a detailed discussion of the mechanism of action of drugs. The importance of NICE guideline and the BNF to safe prescribing will also be discussed alongside the more detailed pharmacology.

Cases that will be presented will include:
•       Hypertension
•       Myocardial ischaemia 1: atherosclerosis and angina
•       Myocardial ischaemia 2: Acute coronary syndromes including STEMI and NSTEMI
•       Heart Failure and Oedema
•       Arrhythmias
•       Anaemia
•       Stroke and Thrombosis

Each case will comprise an initial presentation (simulation where appropriate) followed by a series of lectures and seminars and include ‘Self Taught ‘learning outcomes.

The syllabus will include the opportunity for students to research a particular area of interest based on one of the above cases and prepare a brief, conference style abstract for summative assessment. A follow up to this task will involve students who have submitted abstracts covering similar themes to then prepare and present a group poster. This will form a further summative component of the assessment process. The final summative component being an invigilated online assessment consisting of a section of SBA/MCQ style questions and a further Short Answer response component which will allow a greater degree of data interpretation as part of the assessment process.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures and lecture materials will present the clinical case study and will impart new information which underpins the pathophysiological changes being examined.

Small group teaching sessions will reinforce taught material and will provide an opportunity for students to clarify concepts or challenge their learning through peer and staff discussions.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The conference style abstract will assess the students’ ability to research a topic in greater depth showing their critical analysis skills as well as their general writing skills as the assessment is a concise summary/abstract. This assessment will then be extended when students must collaborate in a group to collate their findings and share their knowledge of a particular cardiovascular presentation to create a conference style poster. The poster will therefore assess the students' teamwork skills as well as more specific writing and presentation skills in the poster presentation session.

The final exam has both SBA and MCQ style questions and a further Short Answer response component to assess student’s data interpretation skills as well as theoretical knowledge.