Advanced Heart Failure Management in Primary Care

• Scope and expectations of advanced heart failure care in Primary Care
• How this course builds on foundation-level learning
• Governance, patient safety, and escalation boundaries

• Classification of heart failure (HFrEF, HFpEF, HFmrEF)
• Advanced history taking and clinical examination
• Use and interpretation of NT-proBNP and biomarkers
• Role of ECG and echocardiography in diagnosis and monitoring
• Differential diagnosis and diagnostic uncertainty
• Referral pathways for diagnostic confirmation

• Evidence-based pharmacological pathways in heart failure
• Optimisation of ACE inhibitors / ARBs / ARNIs
• Beta-blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists
• Diuretics: optimisation, monitoring, and safety
• SGLT2 inhibitors in heart failure
• Monitoring renal function, electrolytes, and blood pressure
• Managing side effects, intolerance, and non-adherence

• Persistent symptoms despite optimisation
• Recurrent decompensation and admission avoidance
• Managing heart failure with co-morbidities (AF, CKD, diabetes, COPD)
• Frailty, polypharmacy, and risk stratification
• Individualising care and balancing treatment burden

• Cardiac rehabilitation referral and optimisation
• Lifestyle interventions and supported self-management
• Vaccination and infection risk reduction
• Psychosocial considerations and carer support

• Recognising acute decompensated heart failure
• Primary Care role following hospital admission
• Post-discharge medication optimisation and safety-netting
• Reducing risk of readmission
• Escalation and urgent referral pathways

• Indications for implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD)
• Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT)
• Understanding Primary Care responsibilities within specialist-led pathways

• Recognising advanced disease and increasing symptom burden
• Advance care planning and escalation planning
• Symptom control and supportive care approaches
• Communicating sensitively with patients and families
• Working with palliative and community services

• Heart failure specialist nurses and MDT working
• Shared-care models and referral pathways
• Managing care across Primary, Community, and Secondary Care

• Complex case studies
• Advanced clinical decision-making scenarios
• Peer discussion and reflective learning
  

All courses are developed and delivered by experienced healthcare professionals with current or recent clinical experience in Primary Care and long-term condition management. Trainers are appropriately qualified and maintain up-to-date knowledge in line with national guidance. Course content and curriculum are subject to regular review to ensure they remain evidence based, aligned to national standards, and reflective of current best practice at the time of delivery.