Certificate in lipidology for nurses and healthcare professionals

Nurses and healthcare professionals are often faced with challenges in how to deal with different aspects of atherosclerotic vascular disease in day-to-day practice. This programme will help you improve how you identify, help and support those in your care who are at high cardiovascular risk. The course includes practical tips and advice on management of patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease and inherited lipid disorders, with contributions from clinical practitioners and research experts, from nurses, and from patients themselves.

Taking the course

This programme comprises an introduction and seven further modules. Each module has in it a number of short presentations. Once you’ve listened to a presentation you will be asked to answer multiple choice questions on it. You need to achieve a score of at least 50% correct to pass.

This programme aims to improve understanding of the role of lipids in cardiovascular risk, and provide advice on lipid management. The objective of each module is to address the questions below:

• Module 1: Introduction.
  • Why are lipids important?
  • What role do they play in cardiovascular risk?
• Module 2: Lipid metabolism.
  • How does metabolism work?
  • How is it affected by therapy and lifestyle?
  • How do I read and understand lab reports?
• Module 3: Guidelines.
  • How do I best approach evaluation of my patient’s cardiovascular risk?
  • What are the recommended lipid values for my patient?
• Module 4: Familial dyslipidaemias, Inherited lipid disorders.
  • How do I recognise and manage patients with inherited lipid disorders?
  • What does a diagnosis mean for the patient and their family?
• Module 5: Pharmacological treatments.
  • Statins, ezetimibe & PCSK9 therapy – How do they work & when should they be employed?
  • What could we expect from the emerging therapies targeting ANGPTL3, APOC3 or Lp(a)?
• Module 6: Diet and lifestyle.
  • What diet & lifestyle changes will benefit my patient?
• Module 7: The nurse’s role.
  • Hear directly from patients, advice on helping and supporting them – from the beginning, advice on explaining diagnoses and answering questions about what that means for them. With tips and advice on keeping up your patient’s motivation to adhere to prescribed therapy & lifestyle changes.
  • Working with other healthcare professionals – advice on supporting doctors when you’re monitoring patients, what changes to look out for and when to report red flags.
  • What is cascade screening and when is it used?
• Module 8: Assessing a dyslipidemic patient in a lipid clinic
  • Why and how to assess a dyslipidemic patient in a lipid clinic?

Understanding the role of lipids in health and disease is important for a broad spectrum of different professionals working in health care and in society at large.

This educational programme is highly relevant to nurses and healthcare professionals working in lipid clinics, in cardiovascular prevention, in diabetes and in many other clinics, who come across patients with cardiovascular or metabolic diseases on a regular basis.

Once you have progressed through the whole course, and achieved a pass mark (score 50% or more for the multiple-choice questions) you earn a Certificate in Lipidology from EAS. The Certificate can be downloaded from your EAS profile as a PDF file.

ACLF – Acute on Chronic Liver Failure
Acrp30 – Adiponectin
ACS – Acute Coronary Syndrome
ADA – American Diabetes Association
ADMA – asymmetrical dimethylarginine
AGE – Advanced glycation end product
AGEs – Advanced Glycation Endproducts
AGI – Alpha Glucosidase Inhibitors
alpha 2-beta AR – alpha 2-beta adrenergic receptors
ALT – Alanine Aminotransferase
AMPK – Adenosine Monophosphate activated Protein Kinase
apM1 – Adiponectin
ARB – Angiotensin Receptor Blocker
ATP III – Adult Treatment Panel
BAD – Brachial Artery Distensibility
BCDI – Beta-Cell Demand Index
BCS – Budd-Chiari Syndrome
BDA – British Diabetic Association
BIP – Bezafibrate Infarction Prevention
BMI – Body Mass Index
CAD – Coronary Artery Disease
cccDNA – closed circular DNA
CCK – Cholecystokinin
CHD – Coronary Heart Disease
CHF – Congestive Heart Failure
CLA – Conjugated Linoleic Acid
CNTF – Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor
CRP – C reactive protein
CVD – cardiovascular disease
DASIMAR – the summed product of ADMA and SDMA
DASIMAR – score
DASIMAR – score of the sum of DAS and IMAR
DKA – Diabetic Ketoacidosis
DM – diabetes mellitus
DPP – Diabetes Prevention Program
EBL – Endoscopic band ligation
EGIR – European Group for the study of Insulin Resistance
EWET – Enlarged Waist with Elevated Triacylglycerols
FA – Fatty Acid
FAAH – Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase
FBG – fasting blood glucose
FDA – Food and Drug Agency
FFAs – Free Fatty Acids
FIAF – Fasting Induced Adipose Factor
FMD – Flow-Mediated Dilation
FPG – fasting plasma glucose
FPI – Fasting Plasma Insulin
GI – Glycemic Index
GIK Therapy – Glucose-Insulin-Potassium Therapy
HbA1c – Glycosylated Hemoglobin A1C
HDL – high-density lipoprotein
HMO – Health Maintenance Organization
HOMA – Homeostasis Model Assessment
HPA – Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal
HRS – hepatorenal syndrome
HVPG – hepatic venous pressure gradient
IAPP – islet amyloid polypeptide
ICCU – Intensive Cardiac Care Unit
IDF – International Diabetes Federation
IFH – isolated fasting hyperglycemia
IGR – impaired glucose regulation
IGT – impaired glucose tolerance
IL-6 – Interleukin-6
IMCL – Intramyocellular Lipids
IMT – Intima-media Thickness
IPH – isolated postchallenge hyperglycemia
IPMN – intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm
LDL – low-density lipoprotein
LDLT – Living donor liver transplantation
MGSD – Mediterranean Group for the Study of Diabetes
MI – Myocardial Infarction
NCEP – National Cholesterol Education Program
NGR – Normal glucose regulation
NGT – Normal glucose tolerance
NHS – Nurses’ Health Study
OGTT – Oral Glucose Tolerance Test
PAI-1 – Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor Type 1
PGC-1 alpha – peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha
PMN – Polymorphonuclear Neutrophil
PPAR gamma – peroxisome proliferator activated receptors
PPG – Postprandial Glucose
PSA – Prostate specific antigen
PWV – Pulse Wave Velocity
PWV – Pulse Wave Velocity
QOL – Quality of life
RAGE – Receptor for AGE
RAI – Radioactive iodine
RAI Scanning – Radioactive Iodine Scanning
RECIST – Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors
RNAi – RNA interference
RR – Relative risk
RXR – retinoid X receptors
SAA – Serum Amyloid A
SADLE – San Antonio Diabetes Likelihood Equation
SCL – Sclerotherapy
SDMA – symmetric dimethylarginine
SIRS – Systemic inflammatory response syndrome
SOFA – Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment
SU – sulfonylurea
T2D – type 2 diabetes
T4/T3 – Thyroxine
TERalb – Transcapillary Escape Rate of Albumin
TG – triglyceride
TIPS – Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt
TNF-alpha – Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha
TZD – Thiazolidinedione
UCP2 – Uncoupling Protein 2
VIP – Vasterbotten Intervention Program
VSMC – Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells
WC – Waist Circumference
WHO – World Health Organization