About the Heart Failure and Heart Valve Disease programme
This elearning programme was developed to support health and care professionals from a range of multidisciplinary backgrounds, in better understanding heart failure and heart valve disease. It is targeted at clinicians in primary and community care settings, including GPs.
About the elearning
The sessions aim to develop health and care professionals’ knowledge about heart failure and heart valve disease. This includes information relating to diagnosis and the optimisation of management.
The elearning sessions include:
- what are heart failure and heart valve disease, what are the causes and why is it important
- how to diagnose and key issues in an echo report
- how to optimise management of heart failure and heart valve disease in primary care
- the anatomy and physiology of heart valves, as well as the epidemiology of common types of heart valve disease
- the diagnosis and the initial management of heart failure and heart valve disease in primary care
- indications of heart valve disease, surgical and transcatheter treatments and the follow-up required
- the diagnosis and management of endocarditis in primary care
- the management of heart failure in secondary care
- cardiovascular disease prevention and rehabilitation with a focus on secondary prevention
- transforming heart failure care across your Primary Care Network
- frailty, end-of-life care and heart failure (longer session)
- management in the community, self-care, integrated care and admission avoidance
Sessions take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Learners are asked to complete assessments on key learning points and may download a certificate on completion of each session, to demonstrate continuing professional development.
More information
Jo Churchill MP, Minister for Public Health, Primary Care and Prevention spoke at a Westminster Hall Debate on 11 March 2021 about improving awareness of heart failure. Jo noted that this elearning programme was developed “to support healthcare professionals, in learning more about heart failure and heart valve disease, supporting them to better recognise the symptoms of heart failure and to diagnose, manage, and support heart failure patients”.
Jo continued, “if we can continue to make an impact on the lives of people with heart failure, there will be significant benefits to both the NHS and those affected.” The NHS Long Term Plan describes ambitions for cardiovascular disease, including earlier diagnosis and appropriate management of those with heart failure and heart valve disease.
Professor Nick Linker, National Clinical Director for Heart Disease, stated that:
“I am delighted to support this elearning resource, which will equip clinicians, both medical and non-medical, with the skills and knowledge they need to better support patients with heart failure and heart valve disease”.
Meet the team
- Dr Raj Thakkar – GP specialising in cardiology and Primary Care cardiology lead, Oxford AHSN
- Professor Simon Ray – Consultant Cardiologist, Wythenshawe Hospital
- Dr Kate Gatenby – Consultant in Cardiology (HF & ECHO), Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Dr Andrew Potter – GP specialising in cardiology and community echocardiography, Whaddon Healthcare
- Professor Ahmet Fuat – GP and GPSI Cardiology, Carmel Medical Practice, Darlington; Honorary Professor of Primary Care Cardiology, University of Durham
- Dr Jim Moore – GP Specialist in Cardiology, Gloucestershire Heart Failure Service
- Dr Dominik Schlosshan – Consultant Cardiologist, Clinical Lead Cardiac Imaging, Yorkshire Heart Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Dr Norman Briffa – Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Honorary Reader, University of Sheffield
- Dr Peter Savill – Community Cardiology Specialist, Clinical Lead for Mid Hampshire and Southampton Community Cardiology Services
- Dr Simon Duckett – Consultant Cardiologist, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
- Dr Sue Piper – Consultant Cardiologist, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Dr Catriona Jennings – Director of Nursing and Interdisciplinary Relations, National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health, National University of Ireland, Galway
- Sally Hinton – Executive Director, British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation
- Dr Sarah Zaidi – Ageing Well Clinical Steward Mid and South Essex (MSE) ICS, Clinical Lead Frailty and Urgent Care, Essex Partnership University Trust
- Bella Talwar – Transformation Lead, Cardiac Pathway Improvement Programme, NHS England and NHS Improvement
- Nicola Bowers – Head of Research, the Research & Innovation Department, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
- Lee Harrison – Programme Manager, Cardiac Team, Clinical Policy Unit
- Sarah Cooper – Senior Programme Manager, Cardiac Team, Clinical Policy Unit
We would also like to acknowledge the members of NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Heart Failure and Heart Valve Disease Expert Advisory Group, who have been instrumental in the development of this elearning programme.
Thanks to the British Heart Valve Society for their support with the elearning sessions related to Heart Valve Disease.
Health Education England elearning for healthcare team
- Andi Blackmore – Programme Manager, Technology Enhanced Learning, NHSE
- Chris Wood – Project Manager, Technology Enhanced Learning, NHSE
- Alan Campbell – Learning Designer, Technology Enhanced Learning, NHSE
- Louise Garrahan – Communications and Stakeholder Officer, Technology Enhanced Learning, NHSE
How to access
In order to access the Heart Failure and Heart Valve Disease programme, you will need an elfh account. If you do not have one, then you can register by selecting the Register button below.
To view the Heart Failure and Heart Valve Disease programme, select the View button below. If you already have an account with elfh, you will also be able to login and enrol on the programme from the View button.
Not an NHS organisation?
If you are not an NHS health or care organisation and therefore do not qualify for free access elfh Hub, you may be able to access the service by creating an OpenAthens account.
To check whether or not you qualify for free access via OpenAthens, you can view the eligibility criteria and register on the ‘OpenAthens’ portal.
Registering large numbers of users
If you are a HR, IT or Practice Manager and would like to register and enrol large numbers of staff within your organisation for access onto the Heart Failure and Heart Valve Disease programme, please contact elfh directly.
Organisations wishing to use their own LMS
For HR departments wanting to know more about gaining access to courses using an existing Learning Management System please contact elfh directly to express interest.
More information
Please select the following link for more information on how to use the elfh Hub.