Catriona Jennings is currently at the National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health at the National University of Ireland - Galway where she is an Honorary Professor and Director of Nursing and Interdisciplinary Relations and formerly with the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London. She is a past Chair of the ESC Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions (now an Association of the ESC). Her specialist area is cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation. Prior to her role as Editor-in-Chief of this textbook, she was editor of the ESC Handbook of Preventive Cardiology and the Oxford Care Manual of Preventive Cardiology.

Professor Felicity Astin holds a joint clinical academic post as Professor of Nursing at the University of Huddersfield and Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. Her research has focused upon improving care for people with cardiovascular disease by understanding their health-beliefs, self-management behaviors, health education needs and healthcare experiences. She is also an experienced educator and served as a Board member of the Council for Cardiovascular Nurses and Allied Professions of the ESC. As Chair of the Education committee, she was privileged to work with an amazing team, and led the development of the Core Curriculum for the Continuing Professional Development of Nurses working in cardiovascular settings which informed this book.

Professor Donna Fitzsimons is currently Head of the School of Nursing & Midwifery & Member of Senate in Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland. She is a past ESC Board Member (2014-2020) where she led Patient Involvement activities and pioneered the establishment of the ESC Patient Forum. She was the first nurse to be elected as Councillor on the ESC Board (2016-2018), and was Chair of the ESC Council on Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professionals (2012-2014). As a member of the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee, she has lead work on involving patients in the development and review of ESC guidelines, as well as enhancing nurses' role in guideline implementation. An active proponent of interdisciplinary approaches, she is currently working on projects with EAPCI, ACNAP and Digital Health. Her research interests in Cardiology include developing greater understanding of patient experience and involving patients in the co-production of interventions that enhance care outcomes.

Ekaterini Lambrinou is the current Vice - Chair and the first elected academic staff at the Department of Nursing of the Cyprus University of Technology.
Over the years, she contributed to several undergraduate and postgraduate courses, mainly focusing in medical nursing and specialties, acute and intensive cardiology care and gerontology nursing. She has also contributed to the development heart failure nurse curriculum of the Heart Failure Association of the ESC. Her main aim through education and research is to improve further the care of the patients with cardiovascular diseases, patients' health related quality of life and perception of care; nationally and internationally.
She has been very involved within the activities of the ESC since 2012. She sat on the Board of the European Heart Failure Association (2012-16) and she has been the Chair of the Council of Cardiovascular Nurses and Allied Professions (2016-18).

Professor Lis Neubeck is cardiac nurse with over 25 years of experience in a range of cardiac in-patient and out-patient settings. She is Professor of Cardiovascular Nursing at Edinburgh Napier University. Her research focuses on innovative solutions to secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, identification and management of atrial fibrillation, and use of digital health to improve access to health care. She is President of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professionals of the European Society of Cardiology, and is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology. Lis is the Consultant Editor of the British Journal of Cardiac Nursing.

David R. Thompson is an international leader in cardiovascular nursing, a field in which he has extensive clinical, research and educational experience and expertise. His principal interests are understanding the experiences, concerns, and needs of patients, partners and family members coping with cardiovascular disease, designing and evaluating brief early psychosocial interventions, and developing and validating patient reported outcome measures. He has published widely in the nursing, medical and psychological press and is a founding editor of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing

• Section 1 - The Centrality of Nursing within Cardiovascular Care


• 1: Guy De Backer, Ian Graham, María Teresa Lira, Laura Hayman, and Izabella Uchmanowicz: The epidemiology of cardiovascular disease


• 2: Maria Teresa Lira, Ercole Vellone, Donna Fitzsimons, Lisa Dullagan, and Julie Sanders: Delivering high quality cardiovascular care


• 3: Lis Neubeck, Jenni Jones, Izabella Uchmanowicz, Sue Koob, Catriona Jennings, Maria Teresa Lira, Shirley Ingram, and Donna Fitzsimons: Key considerations for continuing professional development and specialisation


• 4: Geraldine Lee, Gabrielle McKee, Andrea Protopapas, and Ian D Jones: Anatomy and Physiology of the Healthy Heart


• Section 2 - Holistic Nursing Care: Assessment, Intervention and Evaluation


• 5: Diane L. Carroll, Howard T Blanchard, Eleni Kletsiou, Felicity Astin, Alison Woolley, Jo Tillman, Ricardo Leal, Rosie Cervera-Jackson, and Ekaterini Lambrinou: Nursing assessment and care planning in the context of cardiovascular care


• 6: Valentino Oriolo, Margaret Cupples, Neil Angus, Susan Connolly, and Felicity Astin: Care of the patient with Coronary Heart Disease


• 7: Gerry Lee, Nina Fålun, Neil Angus, Jeroen Hendriks, Tone Norekval, and Donna Fitzsimons: Care of the patient with cardiac arrhythmias


• 8: Tone M Norekvål, Britt Borregaard, Tina B Hansen, Trine B Rasmussen, and Sandra B Lauck: Care of the patient with valvular heart disease


• 9: Jodie Ingles, Tootie Bueser, Pascal McKeown, Philip Moons, and Donna Fitzsimons: Care of the patient with inherited cardiac conditions and congenital diseases


• 10: Tiny Jaarsma, Anna Stromberg, Ekaterini Lambrinou, Andreas Protopapas, Loreena Hill, Ana Ljubas and David R Thompson: Care of the patient with heart failure


• 11: Catriona Jennings, Kathy Berra, Laura Hayman, Irene Gibson, Jennifer Jones, Alison Atrey, David R Thompson, Chantal F Ski, Mary Kerins, Tara Conboy, Lis Neubeck, Robyn Gallagher, and Sue Koob: Cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation


• 12: Jan Keenan, Rani Khatib, Gabrielle McKee, Todd Ruppar and Franki Wilson: Pharmacology for Cardiovascular Nurses


• Section 3 - Professional Considerations for Nurses Working in Cardiovascular Care


• 13: Felicity Astin, Emma Harris, Lis Neubeck, Robyn Gallagher, and Jennifer Jones: Patient Education and communication


• 14: David R Thompson, Izabella Uchmanowicz, Jan Keenan, Rani Khatib, Loreena Hill, Ekaterini Lambrinou, Martha Kyriakou, and Lis Neubeck: Addressing the current challenges for the delivery of holistic care


• 15: David R Thompson, Lis Neubeck, and Robyn Gallagher: Looking forward: the future of cardiovascular care