Summary

The aim of this module is to provide an understanding of how evidence that guides clinical practice is generated (from pre-clinical to clinical studies) as well as develop a systematic approach to assessing evidence and applying it to real life clinical scenarios. This integrative module will reinforce knowledge on cardiovascular disease pathophysiology delivered in the Heart and Circulation module and build on understanding of clinical research methodology and appraisal from the Year 2 Use of Evidence and Use of Medicines modules. There will be a particular focus on how new therapeutic interventions for cardiovascular disease are developed, how relevant evidence is generated and on appraisal of interventional studies.

This module will be organised around clinical case scenarios that will cover topics such as hypertension, heart failure, diabetes, obesity, coronary artery disease and congenital heart disease. In addition, focused workshop(s) will be held to help the student to identify and characterise current & novel treatment options for patients with cardiovascular diseases and cover principals of how data analysis and statistics for research are applied to assess the action of these drugs.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives 

After taking this module, you will be able to:

Understand and discuss/critique current evidence-based clinical guidelines for common forms of cardiovascular disease.
	Summarise key information about the pathology, clinical presentation, risk factors, investigation and management of common forms of cardiovascular disease and apply to a given case scenario.
	Use clinical reasoning and critical analysis to select and evaluate the effectiveness of appropriate interventions
	Discuss indications, cautions and contraindications of selected therapeutic interventions
	Be confident to present to a clinical case study
	Critically appraise clinical research papers in cardiovascular disease with respect to experimental design, analytical methods and conclusions.
Who is this module for? 

This is a core module for iBSc Cardiovascular Science students.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Learning will be through seminar-style lectures, tutorials and class discussions.

Selected Reading List 

Introduction to evidence based practice tutorial; available from: http://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/c.php?g=158201&p=1036002

Evidence-based Medicine Toolkit. Carl Heneghan, Wiley-Blackwell; 2nd edition (20 Mar 2006), ISBN-13: 978-0727918413

How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine. Trisha Greenhalgh, Wiley-Blackwell; 5th edition (28 Mar 2014), ISBN-13: 978-1118800966

Users' Guides to the Medical Literature: A Manual for Evidence-Based Clinical Practice. Eds Gordon Guyatt, Drummond Rennie American Medical Association (21 Feb 2002), ISBN-13: 978-1579471743