Treating Patients to Tame their Hypertension
By Cheryl Dumont, PhD, RN, and Jennifer Hardware, MSN, RN
Expiration Date: December 31, 2011. No CE contact hours (CH) will be given after this date.
Purpose:
To provide registered nurses with information about antihypertensives, so they can provide more effective care of patients with hypertension.
Objectives:
- Differentiate the classes of drugs used to treat hypertension.
- Identify a unique adverse effect of each major class.
- Describe the necessary patient education for each major class.
- Explain the cardiovascular benefits of therapy with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, and beta blockers
Description:
About 30% of Americans and as many as 60% of hospitalized patients have hypertension, which is commonly treated with a variety of medications. To help avoid side effects and to identify side effects early, nurses need to be informed about the different types of medications used to treat hypertension, as well as the appropriate patient education. Controlling hypertension can require a complex regimen of drugs, each with its own actions, adverse effects, and nursing considerations. Review what you need to know about the six classes of antihypertensives and what you need to teach your patients.
Read the article [PDF], then click on the link below to take the test.
Authors Bio and Disclosure:
Cheryl Dumont is director, nursing research and
vascular access team; Jennifer Hardware is a heart center case manager. Both work at Winchester Medical Center in Winchester, Virginia.
The planners and authors of this CNE activity have disclosed no relevant financial relationships with any commercial companies pertaining to this activity.
Contact Hours
1.8 contact hours, including 1.8 pharmacology contact hours, will be awarded to nurses who successfully complete this CNE activity.
The American Nurses Association Center for Continuing Education and Professional Development is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
ANA is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP6178.
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