Volume 1, Number 1, May 2004

POPULAR
TOPICBACK TO BASICSMaking sense of heart failure and its treatment
Jan Procter-King

Heart failure is a high priority in primary care, with the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease, the NICE Heart Failure Guidance, and the new General Medical Services contract quality indicators all setting clear standards for improving the management of patients with this increasingly common condition. This four-page pull-out supplement provides you with a need-to-know, need-to-keep guide.

POPULAR
TOPICCHDCBringing CHD management back to primary care
Mike Addleman

Managing heart failure effectively in the community
Community-based nurses are at the forefront of vigorous efforts to improve the management of coronary heart disease. The Coronary Heart Disease Collaborative is spearheading 30 projects around the country to find practical ways forward. This issue reviews how Durham Dales PCT has brought the management of heart failure firmly back into primary care, with up-to-date registers of heart failure patients and regular clinics in the community.

POPULAR
TOPICDISEASE FOCUSAtrial Fibrillation
Michael Kirby

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of those terms that we are hearing more and more in general practice. It is an important risk factor for stroke – particularly in older people – making it a good candidate for primary care teams to target in efforts to prevent cardiovascular disease.

EDITORIALWelcome to the first edition of The British Journal of Primary Care Nursing for cardiovascular disease and diabetes management. You can’t have failed to notice that these two areas – which make up a large proportion of nursing in general practice – are currently top of the agenda for healthcare professionals; the NHS as a whole; and for government.
Jan Procter-King

Welcome to the first edition of The British Journal of Primary Care Nursing for cardiovascular disease and diabetes management. You can’t have failed to notice that these two areas – which make up a large proportion of nursing in general practice – are currently top of the agenda for healthcare professionals; the NHS as a whole; and for government.

EVIDENCE IN PRACTICEThere are just not enough hours in the day to read all the research journals, even if you wanted to. This section of the BJPCN – Evidence in practice – will keep you on top of relevant research without having to spend hours in the library.
Each journal review gives you a bite-size summary of new research, pulling out key points for primary care and recommending the action that you might consider taking.
Dr Chris Harris

POPULAR
TOPICHAVE YOU HEARD?Diabetes information now available online in six ethnic languages
Heart UK launches new information leaflet for the over-50s
Diabetes UK changes telephone Careline number
BMA publishes update on diabetes

PCTCThe Primary Care Training Centre

The Primary Care Training Centre (PCTC) was set up eight years ago with the aim of providing practical, evidence-based training for primary care health professionals. It was started in response to requests from primary care professionals who were concerned that there was no training specifically for them, particularly on the important subjects of diabetes and coronary heart disease prevention. Existing courses sometimes failed to fully understand the primary care situation.

POPULAR
TOPICPRACTICE IN ACTIONNew British Hypertension Society guidelines tighten cardiovascular risk management
Susan Mayor

New British Hypertension Society (BHS) guidelines on hypertension focus on cardiovascular risk rather than risk of coronary heart disease, in order to improve the prevention of stroke as well as heart disease.

PRACTICE IN ACTIONHow to: create and maintain a Coronary Heart Disease
Janet Potts and Adele Graham

The aim of the National Primary Care Development Team (NPDT) is to develop healthcare professionals who have the knowledge and skills to apply quality improvement methods to local priorities. CHD is one such priority and has been within the focus of our work for almost four years. Working in partnership with other agencies who share our priorities is essential. Janet Potts, who leads on the work of the NPDT in West Yorkshire, joined forces with Adele Graham from the CHD Collaborative in West Yorkshire, to give the strongest possible support to local primary healthcare professionals. The CHD register 'recipe' was devised by this partnership.

PREVENTION IN PRACTICENon-statin strategies for modifying lipids
Rubin Minhas

Raised cholesterol is the commonest risk factor for CHD. Reducing cholesterol can be an effective way to help lower a patient’s risk of heart disease, particularly when cholesterol levels are already high. Dr Rubin Minhas looks at how to help patients to lower their cholesterol levels without drug treatment. He will discuss other lipid modifying drugs in future issues.

Q & AYour questions answered

If you have a question for us, send it to: Gail Ryan, The British Journal of Primary Care Nursing, Edgbaston House, 3 Duchess Place, Edgbaston, Birmingham B16 8NH or Email: gryan@bjpcn.co.uk

THERAPEUTICS REVIEWOptimising the treatment of type 2 diabetes with newer insulins
Linda Goldie

Primary care nurses play a central role in the management of type 2 diabetes in the community. This includes helping patients to use their drug treatment correctly. Although many patients with type 2 diabetes initially respond well to weight loss and exercise, most require oral hypoglycaemics and half of all patients eventually require insulin to control their glucose levels in order to prevent the devastating long-term complications of inadequately controlled diabetes. Linda Goldie gives an up-to-date review of the newer insulins – including the insulin analogues, insulin lispro, insulin aspart and insulin glargine – that have been introduced.