Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Certificate Series

Physical and occupational therapists often treat older patients with multiple chronic illnesses. In fact, 80% of adults over the age of 65 have multiple chronic conditions. This can be a difficult patient population to work with considering these patients see an average of 13 different physicians each year and have an average of 50 different prescriptions filled each year. Due to the complexity of this patient population, obtaining progressions through a therapy programcan be a very daunting task. Therapists often feel they are providing suboptimal therapeutic interventions due to the complexity of working with these patient populations. Additionally, caring for these patients is further complicated bythe potential adverse effects of being on multiplemedications. It can be very challenging to help guide these patients to achieve their greatest level of independence andto improve their quality of life.

During this one-day course, participants will be able to obtain comprehensive information on the pathophysiology of some frequently encountered chronic diseases and how they may affect a patient's ability to respond to therapy treatment. This course will evaluate the best techniques, including special tests to perform with these populations that will help guide therapy treatment. Also covered will be the most common medications that these groups of patients might be taking, medications that should be avoided in this population, and how to recognize possible adverse effects of these medications. Participants will discuss vital sign parametersand treatment precautions and how to use this information toguide your clinical decision making and when it is appropriate to continue therapy treatment or when therapy treatmentshould be held. Participants will also review the most common lab tests performed in the older adult population, how to interpret these lab values, and how the results of these tests can affect your patient's ability to progress during therapytreatments. After the completion of this course, participants will confidently use the best treatment strategies for populations with these chronic diagnoses.

• Expand your understanding of the causes, symptoms, and pathophysiology of heart failure, COPD, DM, and hypertension and increase your confidence working with patients with one or more of these conditions
• Pharmacological considerations and how to recognize possible adverse side effects and interactions that could be impacting your patient's ability to maximize functional independence
• Create practical, effective evidence-based interventions for at-risk populations and how to safely progress these patients through a progressive therapy program designed to improve functional outcomes
• Safely progress patients with chronic illnesses using the best plan of care in order to manage and motivate your patients to achieve their maximum level of fitness
• Acquire specific information regarding lab values including normal ranges and how to recognize the effects an abnormal lab value may have on therapeutic interventions, and Hypertension

While pharmacology is a critical component in the medical model of patient management, it is also one of the weakest areas of learning in most education programs for rehabilitation professionals. Thus, rehab specialists, unfortunately, often do not have the necessary background knowledge to understand and compensate for the ways that different medications may be negatively affecting their clients' outcomes. Despite this, they are frequently asked to document and report on their patient's medications!

This essential one-day workshop will increase attendees' comfort level with working around medication effects bypresenting key information on pharmacology. Lab time will include review of drug commercial effectiveness and medical chart reviews. This course will cover the more popular and commonly encountered pharmacologics in rehab settings, including pain and cardiac medications, anti-inflammatories,muscle relaxers, and antibiotics as well as vitamin and mineral supplements in relation to this topic. Side effects that canaffect rehabilitation through altered coordination, balance,cognition and swallowing will be specifically discussed, along with drug interaction risks. In addition, all attendees willreceive a practical, quick-reference handout on pharmacology specifically developed for rehabilitation professionals. After completing this course, attendees will see improved results in their daily practice through their recognition of patients' medication effects and ready knowledge of ways to offset them.

*Hands on lab will be modified for Web based delivery formats into recorded demonstrations

• NEW: Now including information about COVID-19 medications and vaccines!
• What rehab professionals need to know about how common medications work in the body
• Identify medication side effects and interactions for atleast 10 commonly prescribed categories
• How dietary supplements and certain medications canimprove performance both physically and cognitively
• Identify a drug class immediately upon seeing it
• Ensure success in rehabilitation despite challengescreated by medication effects

According to the CDC, more than half a billion people worldwide are affect by cardiovascular disease which accounted for 20.5 million deaths in 2021. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortalityworldwide. Exercise training and physical activity have been shown to decrease cardiovascular risk factors and even to improve heart health. Exercise prescription is an important tool in the belt for physical and occupational therapists. When starting an exercise program, it is frequently important for a patient with cardiovascular disease to be guided by healthcare professionals with expertise in anatomy, physiology, exercise physiology, normal exercise response, and monitoring of exercise/activity response to interventions. Many medications to treat cardiovascular disease as well as many advanced heart failure interventions can augment abody's normal response to exercise. Advanced heart failure interventions may also affect the ability to safely monitor a patient's response to activity resulting in a need for use of interventions other than heart rate, blood pressure and pulse oxygenation for monitoring exercise safety. It is also important for patients with cardiovascular disease to be educated on safe vital signs for activity, normal exercise response, andmethods of self-monitoring response to exercise to ensure safety.

This workshop will provide a refresher on normal vital signs, expected response to exercise and activity in a healthy individual, potential abnormal responses in individuals withcardiovascular disease, alternative methods for monitoring exertional intensity of exercise programs and key patient education related to exercise. Attendees will also review the components of the exercise prescription, evidence-basedactivity recommendations for combating chronic medical conditions as well as evidence supporting certain exercise program such as strength training, high intensity interval training, and traditional Chinese or Indian based exercise modalities. Case study examples of exercise implementation across the care continuum will enhance learning. Immediatelyupon your return to the bedside, you will be more confident in exercise prescription and monitoring of individuals with cardiovascular disease.

• Build expertise in creating effective exercise programs forpatients with cardiac disease, including the safe integration of high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
• Optimize patient outcomes through effective monitoring, assessment, and documentation
• Strengthen interprofessional teamwork by understandingthe impact of cardiac medications on exercise and identifying alternative exercise intensity measures.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) is a medically supervised program designed to improve pulmonary health as well as health literacy related to pulmonary conditions and associated risk factors. PR has been shown to improve function and quality of life, reduce dyspnea, increase exercise and activity tolerance and to reduce hospitalizations. There is Level 1 evidence supporting pulmonary rehab for patients with COPD and continued evidence evolving for the support of pulmonary rehab in other diseases such as interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis, pulmonary hypertension (Rochester et al, 2015), ( Nici et al, 2005). The cycle of inactivity associated with dyspnea leads to frailty in pulmonary patients often leading to increased disease burden, risk of adverse events, risk of falls, all-cause mortality, and hospital admissions/re-admissions.

Unfortunately, many barriers exist to attending and completing a pulmonary rehab program. Because of these barriers, physical and occupational therapists may findthemselves performing pulmonary PT and OT in non- traditional pulmonary rehab settings (i.e. home health or traditional outpatient therapy). This course provides physical and occupational therapists with a comprehensive understanding of pulmonary interventions across variousclinical settings, including acute care, outpatient therapy,pulmonary rehab, inpatient rehab and home health. Participants will learn to assess and implement evidence- based interventions such as airway clearance techniques, breathing retraining, functional exercise programs, and energy conservation strategies. Through case studies and practical applications, therapists will develop confidence in optimizing pulmonary function to improve patient outcomes and quality of life

• Evidence-based pulmonary interventions applicable across different settings
• Strategies to optimize breathing efficiency, endurance, activity tolerance, and functional independence
• Stay updated on the latest research and bet practices in pulmonary rehab for PTs and OTs
• Apply interventions with a setting and patient specific approach