Abstract
Maintaining an up-to-date nursing team according to European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines is essential for integrated and high-quality cardiovascular care. Nurses play a crucial role in managing complex conditions, and by following the latest ESC recommendations, they can enhance patient-centered care and improve health outcomes (1). However, barriers such as limited leadership, workload, and resource shortages often prevent the effective use of prevention guidelines, as only 12% of nurses reported implementing them in practice (2). To overcome these challenges, educational and organizational strategies that build nurse self-efficacy and empower them to advocate for evidence-based care are necessary (3).
One successful initiative is the Cardiovascular Nursing Manual (4), a free digital resource validated by the Portuguese Society of Cardiology and the Portuguese Order of Nurses. This manual, which incorporates ESC guidelines, assists in clinical decision-making and provides educational tools for cardiovascular care. It features interactive content covering cardiovascular risk factors, coronary syndrome, heart failure, structural heart disease, arrhythmias, cardiac surgery, and cardiac rehabilitation. Alongside recent ESC recommendations, it provides useful tools for educating cardiovascular patients and standardizing nursing intervention documentation. This cardiovascular nursing manual is being used as a reference for training teams involved in the Cardiac Integrated Care project.
While the free dissemination of this resource might introduce bias into our study, withholding it from Portuguese nurses would be unethical. Hence, alongside the Cardiac Integrated Care project, scientific conferences by the Portuguese Society of Cardiology, Order of Nurses, and the Portuguese Society of Health Literacy are planned to disseminate this manual. The dissemination of this resource through the UC Scientific Repository has been significant since its release in February 2024, with 742 downloads already recorded, demonstrating its wide accessibility and impact.
This approach highlights the critical role of accessible, evidence-based resources in advancing cardiovascular nursing practice and promoting integrated care throughout Portugal.
1.Ski C, Cartledge S, Foldager D, Thompson D, Fredericks S, Ekman I, et al. Integrated care in cardiovascular disease: a statement of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions of the European Society of Cardiology. Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2023;zvad009. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjcn/zvad009.
2. McKee G, Kerins M, Hamilton G, Hansen T, Hendriks J, Kletsiou E, et al. Barriers to ESC guideline implementation: results of a survey from the European Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions (CCNAP). Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2017;16(8):678–86.
3. Deaton C. Implementing clinical practice guidelines: a responsibility for nurses and allied health professionals? Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2012;11(3):263–4.
4. Homem F, Caetano A, Reveles A, Martins H, Sousa J, Rodrigues L, et al. Manual de Apoio à Consulta de Enfermagem ao Utente com Patologia Cardiovascular. 2023. https://estudogeral.uc.pt/handle/10316/107474