Physical Therapy Management of Patients with Heart Failure

Course Description

Heart failure affects nearly 7 million adults in the United States and remains a leading cause of hospitalization, disability, and health care utilization. A growing and increasingly diverse population of patients with heart failure is being seen by physical therapists across acute care, rehabilitation, home care, and outpatient settings.

This course provides a broad overview of contemporary heart failure pathophysiology and classification, including heart failure with reduced, mildly reduced, preserved, and improved ejection fraction (HFrEF, HFmrEF, HFpEF, and HFimpEF). Particular emphasis will be placed on recognizing the clinical presentation of heart failure and identifying common findings during the physical therapy examination that influence clinical decision-making, safety, prognosis, and exercise prescription.

Current evidence and clinical guidelines supporting physical activity, exercise training, and rehabilitation for people with heart failure will be reviewed. Participants will learn practical approaches to assessing functional capacity and prescribing and progressing exercise across the continuum of care. The course will conclude with application of current evidence to clinical scenarios that physical therapists can immediately incorporate into practice.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

• Explain the pathophysiology of heart failure
• Recognize the difference between diastolic and systolic heart failure
• Describe the clinical decision-making involved in the physical therapist examination
• Create evidence-based exercise prescriptions for patients with heart failure throughout the stages of the disease
• Recognize indications for termination of exercise

• Prerequisites

  None

• Educational Level

  Intermediate

• Other

  Satisfactory completion of this course will require the participant to respond to polling questions asked throughout the webinar.