CARDIOtalks

Around 32% of all deaths world-wide are attributed to cardiovascular disease and around one-third of deaths from stroke and heart attacks in those under 70 years of age are preventable with lifestyle and dietary influences playing a significant role. 

Cardiovascular disease continues to be one of the most extensively researched areas of nutrition in chronic disease prevention and support. With the pace and volume of research available each year, staying up-to-date is an essential but challenging task for busy clinicians. Thinking critically about that research is even harder. This course aims to minimise the time needed to confidently apply the latest evidence into everyday practice.

The highest quality evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses will be critically discussed throughout, with controversial topics in nutrition eg. salt, saturated fat, dietary fat and carbohydrates, red meat, genetic-based differences, cholesterol and caffiene. GRADE-based frameworks will be applied to make it easier to understand the quality and strength of the evidence available to support clinical decisions to help practitioners prioritise the interventions that have the strongest weight of existing evidence. This will also help provide different options, trouble-shooting and ensure informed consent. 

Mechanistic underpinnings of both disease processes and therapeutic effects of nutrition and lifestyle interventions, including nutraceuticals, will make it easier to understand, explain and justify clinical decisions in practice.  Various food groups including nuts, wholegrains, refined grains, fruit, vegetables, fish, different dairy products, legumes and soy as well as meats, will be explored. 

The course will introduce clinical risk and decision-making in complex topics such as unstable clotting, poly-pharmacy, interactions and post-cardiovascular event risk differences with some nutritional interventions. 

10x 3 hour lectures, will provide 30 hours of continous professional development (CPD) education, with  question and answer time integrated into each lecture. Attendance at all lectures will be required for CPD recognition. Each lecture will be recorded and available for streaming for 5 days after the live event but will not be available to download. Comprehensive and fully referenced slides will be available to all learners. The course can only be purchased as a complete event, rather than per-session. Sharing any resources without explicit written consent will result in a non-refundable barring of access to remaining and future courses.

The course structure will be as follows: 

Day 1: Wednesday 2nd March 2022, 10am.

Epidemiology, aetiology and prognostic determinants of cardiovascular disease. Review of pathophysiology.

Day 2: Wednesday 9th March2022, 10am. 

Hypertension part 1: Food and lifestyle considerations. 

Day 3: Wednesday 16th March 2022, 10am.

Hypertension part 2: Nutraceutical interventions and pharmaceutical interactions. 

Day 4: Wednesday 23rd March 2022, 10am.

Cholesterol part 1: Role in cardiovascular disease and the controversies surrounding it. Dietary lipids and influence on cholesterol. 

Day 5: Wednesday 30th March 2022, 10am. 

Cholesterol part 2: Food and lifestyle interventions. 

Day 6: Wednesday 6th April 2022, 10am. 

Cholesterol part 3: Nutraceutical interventions and pharmaceutical interactions. 

Day 7: Wednesday 27th April 2022, 10am.

Clotting: Risk factors and dietary, lifestyle and nutraceutical interventions, including pharmaceutical interactions. 

Day 8: Wednesday 4th May 2022, 10am. 

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and outcomes: Dietary, lifestyle and nutraceutical interventions. 

Day 9: Wednsday 11th May 2022, 10am. 

Obesity, steatohepatitis and diabetes in cardiovascular disease part 1: Dietary and lifestyle considerations. 

Day 10: Wednesday 18th May 2022, 10am. 

Obesity, steatohepatitis and diabetes in cardiovascular disease part 2: Nutraceutical interventions and interactions.