Current estimates are that 6.5 million Americans have HF, which is expected to grow to more than 8 million people by 20301. One major study estimated there are 960,000 new HF cases annually. The lifetime risk of HF has increased to 24%, approximately 1 in 4 persons will develop HF in their lifetime1.
Given the growing number of people being diagnosed with HF, HFSA has developed the Heart Failure Patient and Caregiver Webinar Series to effectively educate patients and caregivers on HF including treatment and management.
Tentative topics for the series in 2024 are outlined below. Check back soon for additional webinars!
2024 Webinar Series
Webinar Archive
Explore webinars recorded in 2020 and previous years.
Physical Activity and Diet in Heart Failure
Recorded On: February 13, 2020
Speaker: Laura L. Peters, DNP, FNP-C
Description: The goal of this webinar is to empower individuals with heart failure and educate them about the importance of exercise and diet to their health and wellbeing. The presentation outlines the benefits of physical activity, the risks of inactivity, how and when to exercise safely, and the role of nutrition in heart failure management, including potential dietary considerations such as the monitoring of sodium and fluid intake.
Speaker Bio – Laura L. Peters, DNP, FNP-C is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant section within the Division of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado. Additionally, she is a Senior Clinical Instructor in the University of Colorado College of Nursing. She is also the Director of the Children’s Hospital Colorado and UCHealth Heart Transplant Transition Program.
She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. She obtained her Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, as well as her Doctor of Nursing Practice, at the University of Colorado College of Nursing.
Along with her busy clinical practice, she is involved in a number of quality improvement projects, including integration of behavioral health care in chronic patient populations. She is passionate about the impact of mental health and healthy lifestyle habits in patients with chronic disease states.
She is an active member in the Heart Failure Society of America, currently serving on the HFSA Certification Program Committee.
Emotional Wellness in Heart Failure and the Caregiver Challenge
Recorded On: December 16, 2019
Speaker: Nasrien E. Ibrahim, MD, FACC, FHFSA
Description: This webinar discusses the various moods that may affect a heart failure patient, how to recognize mood changes, when to seek help and the treatment options available. The caregiver is an important part of the well-being of the heart failure patient. This presentation will also address the important role a caregiver plays, the challenges and rewards of caregiving, the importance of self-care, and finding support when needed.
Speaker Bio – Nasrien E. Ibrahim, MD, FACC, FHFSA is a board certified cardiologist in the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Section within the Division of Cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is also the Associate Director of the Resynchronization & Cardiac Therapeutics Program at MGH. She completed her internal medicine residency and general cardiology fellowship at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, her advanced heart failure and cardiac transplant fellowship at the University of Colorado, and her clinical research fellowship at MGH. She is involved in several research studies in heart failure involving biomarkers and participates in several clinical trials all aimed at improving the management and outcomes of patients with heart failure. She also has research interests in health inequities, access to care, and women’s leadership in academia.
Advanced Heart Failure: When Patients Should Seek Help
Recorded On: November 20, 2019
Speaker: Mark Drazner, MD, MSc, Clinical Chief of Cardiology, Medical Director, VAD / Heart Transplant, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Description: On Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 1:00 pm ET, Mark Drazner, MD, MSc, Clinical Chief of Cardiology and Medical Director, VAD/Heart Transplant at UT Southwestern Medical Center will present a webinar on behalf of the Heart Failure Society of America entitled Advanced Heart Failure: When Patients Should Seek Help. This presentation will provide an overview of advanced heart failure and educate patients and caregivers about warning signs of advanced heart failure. The goal is to educate and empower patients with heart failure so that they can discuss with their health care provider whether they should be referred to an advanced heart failure center.
Learning Objectives: The goal is to educate and empower patients with heart failure so that they can discuss with their health care provider whether they should be referred to an advanced heart failure center.
Speaker Bio: Mark H. Drazner, MD, MSc is the Clinical Chief of Cardiology, Medical Director of the VAD/Heart Transplant Program, and holds the James M. Wooten Chair in Cardiology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He received a Masters of Science in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. He has widely published in leading journals in the field of heart failure. He has served on three prior writing committees for the American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology (ACC) Guidelines for the Management of Heart Failure, currently serves on the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) Board of Directors, and as Associate Editor for Circulation. He also was Vice-Chair for the 2017 ACC/AHA/HFSA/ISHLT/ACP Advanced Training Statement on Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology. In 2018, he received the Laennec Master Clinician Award from the AHA.
Heart Failure: Diagnostic Testing and Advanced Therapies
Recorded on: June 13, 2019
Time: 12:00 PM EST
Speaker: Cynthia Bither, ACNP, ANP, Chief NP, Advanced Heart Failure Program, Medstar Washington Hospital Center Washington, DC
Description: The webinar will provide an overview of the testing involved in diagnosis and treatment of heart failure. Participants will learn about the various types of testing in heart failure including echocardiogram, stress testing, coronary angiography, exercise tests, blood tests and more. The advanced therapies available to heart failure patients will be discussed including Ventricular Assist Devices, Mechanical Circulatory Support and heart transplants. When considering advanced therapies, participants will learn how best to evaluate the therapy options and timing for treatment.
Speaker Bio – Cindy Bither has been caring for heart failure patients for the majority of her career with the last 24 years having been spent as a nurse practitioner in an inpatient setting. She specializes in the Advanced Heart Failure/Stage D population, including Pulmonary Hypertension, Infiltrative Cardiomyopathy, LVAD’s and heart transplantation. She is currently the Chief NP in the Adv HF Program at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, in Washington, D.C. She is a Past President of the American Association of Heart Failure nurses and has edited a book on Advanced Heart failure that compliments the annual Adv AAHFN HF Symposium which she chairs. Most recently she has had the privilege of doing global nursing education on heart failure in the United Arab Emirates, Manila, Bogota and Asia for the American College of Cardiology.
Heart Failure: Medications and Challenges of Multiple Medications
Recorded on: February 12, 2019
Time: 12:00 PM EST
Speaker: Lisa Jennings, ACNP-BC, CVNP-BC, CCRN-CMC, CHFN, FHFSA
Description:
The presentation will provide an in-depth discussion of the medications used to treat heart failure. Topics that will be covered include the concept of ejection fraction, medication differences, controlling symptoms, side effects of medications, the importance of medication adherence and tools to help manage multiple medications.
Speaker Bio – Lisa Jennings, ACNP-BC, CVNP-BC, CCRN-CMC, CHFN, FHFSA:
Lisa has 28 years of experience in the field of cardiology with a focus in heart failure and heart transplant. Lisa is very passionate about the field of heart failure and the care of those patients across the continuum of their disease process. She is a 2009 graduate of the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program at University of Southern Indiana. She is board certified as an acute care NP, Cardiovascular NP, with additional certifications is adult cardiac medicine, critical care, and heart failure.
Lisa is a member of Heart Failure Society of America and serves on the HFSA nursing committee, and is a fellow of the Heart Failure Society of America. She also was deemed one of their emerging leaders in the heart failure field and attended a leadership conference in May 2017. She teaches the heart failure section of the Saint Luke’s Advanced Practice Fellowship program. She has presented cardiology and heart failure programs at the local, state, and national level to numerous different audiences from nurses, nurse practitioners, resident and fellows in training, and physicians.
Lisa currently works as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at Saint Luke’s Cardiovascular Consultants at Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri and serves as the lead heart failure APP. She provides care in heart failure clinics and rounds on the inpatient advance heart failure and heart transplant service.
Managing Heart Failure & Diabetes
Recorded on: February 27, 2019
Speaker: Ponrathi Athilingam, PhD, ACNP, MCH, FAANP, FHFSA
Description:
The presentation will provide an in-depth discussion the relationship between heart failure and diabetes. Topics that will be covered include self-care, management and treatment of the patient with heart failure and diabetes. A Q&A period will follow the presentation.
Speaker Bio – Ponrathi Athilingam, PhD, ACNP, MCH, FAANP, FHFSA: Dr. Ponrathi Athilingam is a Tenured, Associate Professor at the University of South Florida College of Nursing. She is an acute care nurse practitioner who shares her expertise with her students and the community in which she lives.
Dr. Athilingam’s research is focused on auditory cognitive training and technology-based interventions for patients with heart failure to improve self-care practices, quality of life, and thus reduce hospital readmission rates. As a PI, she had received funding from Florida High-Tech Corridor, The CS Draper Laboratory, and National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps and designed a Mobile phone application called “Heart Mapp” to improve self-care of patients with heart failure at home. Currently, she received funding from National Institute of Health (NINR) small business innovation research (SBIR) grant to test HeartMapp with cognitive training as a device ready for commercialization. She is a Fellow of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) and Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioner (FAANP)
Heart Failure: Clinical Trials – A Patient-Centered Tutorial
Recorded on: August 23, 2018 1:00pm ‐ August 23, 2018 2:00pm
Description:
The Heart Failure Society of America and Mended Hearts are partnering to bring heart failure education to patients, caregivers and families through a webinar series. This webinar will provide an in-depth discussion on what clinical trials are, why they are important, ways to learn what clinical trials are available, and how to participate in a clinical trial. A question and answer period will follow the presentation.
Speaker:
Richard Patten, MD
Director, Lahey Health Integrated Heart Failure Network,
Lahey Hospital and Medical Center
Burlington, MA
Moderator:
Susan Ammon, NP-C, CHFN, FHFSA
This webinar is a partnership between HFSA and Mended Hearts. The community education program is made possible by support from Amgen and Cytokinetics.