Advanced Heart Failure Course

The purpose of this course is to provide a structured programme which covers the core competencies in the field of advanced heart failure and heart transplant medicine. It covers defined learning objectives set out by International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, Joint Royal College of Physicians Training Board and European Society of Cardiology curricula for the subspecialty.

Aligned with our teams core value of “sharing our knowledge”, this programme intends to develop experts in the field of advanced heart failure. The national and international curricula exist have been developed for trainee or postgraduate doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other allied health care professionals.

The course structure is designed to deliver these curricula requirements through a combination of lecture series, observership within Harefield Hospital heart transplant unit, and participation within multi-disciplinary meetings.

Course options, duration, cost and location

The course is available as one of two options:

I. Lecture series only • 3 days (Fri/Sat/Sun) • £400 + booking fee • MS Teams Online

II. Full course* (lecture series + 3 week observership) • The observership is available upon enquiry and subject to availability • MS Teams (online) and Harefield Hospital, London, UK (onsite) (weekend lecture series • week 1 clinic • week 2 on the ward • week 3 catheter laboratory). The observership is subject to availability. Given the high demand, availability is now set for April 2027.

*  Fees are non-profit and go towards running the course and cardiovascular research.

Delegates in the lecture series will have the chance to participate in a series of lectures delivered by an expert faculty.

Delegates who will in addition enrol onto the obervership will rotate through wards (high dependency unit and intensive care unit), clinic (heart failure, transplant, and LVAD clinic) and cath lab over a 3 week period. During this time they will be exposed to in patient and out-patient cases as well as advanced heart failure multidisciplinary team meetings. The timing of the observership will be dependent on delegate and hospital availability.

Lecture series sample timetable • Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Day one

Session one contains 30 minute lectures on:

State of the nation (heart failure where have we been and where are we going)
Diagnosis of heart failure
Management of HFwrEF – medication
Management of HFwpEF – medication
Pacing therapy for HF
State of the art lecture – latest clinical trials in heart failure

Session two contains 30 minute lectures on:

Definition, aetiology and epidemiology of advanced heart failure
Prognosis and prognostication
Management of heart failure in the emergency room
Inotropes and vasopressors
Management of advanced heart failure in clinic

Day two

Session one contains 30 minute lectures on:

CPEX test – interpretation
Right heart cath interpretation
Rehab and frailty and advanced heart failure surgery
Psychological support for transplant and LVAD therapy
Diet and nutrition assessment for Tx and LVAD surgery
Oxygen therapy and/or ventilatory support

Session two contains 30 minute lectures on:

Heart transplantation history
Survival and complications post-transplant
Transplant assessment – indications and contraindications
Transplant immunosuppression
Donor selection – DBD/DCD
Transplant immunology
Rejection histopathology
Transplant rejection diagnosis and management

Day three

Session one contains 30 minute lectures on:

LVAD history indications and contraindications
LVAD survival and complications
Management of LVAD complications VAD thrombosis, infection, bleeding
VA ECMO
Impella
Levotronix VAD
Transplant and LVAD surgery
Palliative care support in HF

Observership sample timetable • weeks two, three and four

• Definition, aetiology and epidemiology of advanced heart failure
• Prognosis and prognostication in heart failure
• Management of heart failure in the emergency room
• Inotropes and vasopressors
• Management of advanced heart failure in clinic
• CPEX test – interpretation
• Right heart cath interpretation
• Rehab and frailty and advanced heart failure surgery
• Psychological support for transplant and LVAD therapy
• Diet and nutrition assessment for Tx and LVAD surgery
• Oxygen therapy and/or ventilatory support
• Heart transplantation history
• Survival and complications post-transplant
• Transplant assessment – indications and contraindications
• Transplant immunosuppression
• Donor selection
• Transplant immunology
• Rejection histopathology
• Transplant rejection diagnosis and management
• LVAD history indications and contraindications
• LVAD survival and complications
• Management of LVAD complications VAD thrombosis, infection, bleeding
• VA ECMO
• Impella
• Levotronix VAD
• Transplant and LVAD surgery
• Palliative care support in HF
• Heart Failure epidemiology
• Heart Failure diagnosis
• Management of HFwrEF – medication
• Management of HFwpEF – medication
• Pacing therapy for HF

I. Lecture series only – candidates must be undergraduates or postgraduates.

II. Full course (lecture series + observership) – candidates must be undergraduates or postgraduates and will need to go through occupational and security health checks.

For the observerships, candidates will need to go through occupational and security health checks. They must also show a clear capacity to benefit from the course for their career development (assessed in their application form and curriculum vitae).

The course is available as one of two options:

I. Lecture series only • 3 days (Fri/Sat/Sun) • £400 + booking fee • MS Teams Online

II. Full course* (lecture series + 3 week observership) • The observership is available upon enquiry and subject to availability • MS Teams (online) and Harefield Hospital, London, UK (onsite) (weekend lecture series • week 1 clinic • week 2 on the ward • week 3 catheter laboratory). The observership is subject to availability. Given the high demand, availability is now set for April 2027.

* Fees are non-profit and go towards running the course and cardiovascular research.

The Advanced Heart Failure course is:

• Endorsed by British Society of Heart Failure (BSH) and British Cardiovascular Society (BCS).
• Endorsed by and joint sessions with The Heart Failure Association(HFA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
• Joint sessions with Mass General Brigham.
• Supported by Harefield Hospital.

The course faculty comprises of specialists within Harefield Hospital heart transplant unit and international experts.