Planning Committee
Gregg Sherman, MD
Family Practice
Plantation, FL
Harvey C. Parker, Ph.D., CCMEP
National Association for Continuing Education
Plantation, FL
Joshua Kilbridge, President
Kilbridge Associates
San Francisco, CA
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a subgroup of pulmonary hypertension (PH) - a chronic and progressive condition characterized by abnormally high pressure in the pulmonary vasculature. PAH has previously been considered a rare disease, but evidence suggests a prevalence of about 15-50 cases per million. In the United States, about 1,000 new cases of PAH are diagnosed each year and mortality and hospitalization rates for PH have been increasing.
The pathophysiology of PAH is complex, with abnormalities occurring at the genetic and molecular levels, and involving pulmonary arterial smooth muscle, endothelial cells, and the adventitia. PAH may be associated with disturbances in the balance of endogenous vasoconstrictors and vasodilators (including endothelin, prostacyclin, nitric oxide and cGMP) in response to endothelial dysfunction or injury, and has led to the development of specific therapies targeting the prostacyclin-, nitric oxide- and endothelin-mediated pathways.
Dramatic advances in the treatment of PAH have occurred over the past two decades, but despite these advances, education and training of clinicians has lagged behind advances in the management of PAH. It is important for clinicians to know when additional or more aggressive treatment is needed, and timely referral to a specialty PH center for a more detailed evaluation and/or more aggressive therapy should be carefully considered. Unfortunately, PAH patients are commonly referred too late in the disease process, at a time when hemodynamic abnormalities are at an advanced stage.
This program will help to bridge the knowledge and performance gaps related to identification, and management of PAH. This educational initiative offers a two-phased curriculum. Phase 1 offered a Self Assessment Program (SAP) allowing learners to assess their knowledge and skills in this area, compare their selections and scores with all other learners to date, and review commentary from the faculty. The goal of the SAP is to make learners aware of their strengths and weaknesses in this subject area.
This Phase 2 activity utilizes a case-based interactive structure that was developed focusing on results from Phase 1 learner knowledge gaps.
DISCLOSURE POLICY STATEMENT:
It is the policy of NACE to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all of its educational activities. NACE assesses conflict of interest with its faculty, planners and managers of CME activities. Conflicts of interest that are identified are resolved by reviewing that presenter's content for fair balance and absence of bias, scientific objectivity of studies utilized in this activity, and patient care recommendations.
While NACE endeavors to review faculty content, it remains the obligation of each physician or other healthcare practitioner to determine the applicability or relevance of the information provided from this course in his or her own practice.
DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST:
Faculty
Franck Rahaghi, MD, MHS, FCCP serves as a speaker for United Therapeutics, Actelion and Lung Biotech. Dr. Rahaghi also serves as a Consultant for Bayer and Lung Biotech and a Researcher for Gilead and Lung Biotech.
Murali Chakinala, MD, FCCP serves as a Consultant for Actelion and SteadyMed Therapuetics. Dr. Chakinala also serves as a Consultant/Speaker for Gilead and Bayer.
Planning Committee
Gregg Sherman, MD, has no real or apparent conflicts of interest to report.
Harvey Parker, PhD, has no real or apparent conflicts of interest to report.
Josh Kilbridge has no real or apparent conflicts of interest to report.
DISCLOSURE OF UNLABELED USE:
NACE requires that faculty participating in any CME activity disclose to the audience when discussing any unlabeled or investigational use of any commercial product or device not yet approved for use in the United States.
DISCLAIMER
The opinions expressed during the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of NACE. The information is presented for the purpose of advancing the attendees' professional development.
ACCREDITATION STATEMENT:
The National Association for Continuing Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
National Association for Continuing Education is approved as a provider of nurse practitioner continuing education by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. AANP Provider Number 121222.
This CME activity was planned and produced in accordance with the ACCME Essentials and the AANP CE Standards and Policies and AANP Commercial Support Standards.
Contact this CME provider for privacy and confidentiality policy statement information at:
CREDIT DESIGNATION STATEMENT:
The National Association for Continuing Education designates this educational activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
National Association for Continuing Education is approved as a provider of nurse practitioner continuing education by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. AANP Provider Number 121222. This program has been approved for 0.5 contact hours of continuing education (which includes 0.25 pharmacology hours).
TO OBTAIN CME CREDITS:
- Read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures.
- Participate in the activity.
- Complete the post-test and activity evaluation.
- Physicians who successfully complete the post-test and evaluation will receive CME credit.
- Nurse Practitioners who successfully complete the post-test and evaluation will receive AANP CE credit.
- You must score 60% or higher on the post-test to receive credit for this activity.
- All other participants who successfully complete the post-test and evaluation will receive a certificate of participation.
COURSE VIEWING REQUIREMENTS
Supported Browsers: Internet Explorer 9.0+ for Windows 2003, Vista, XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.1 Google Chrome 28.0+ for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux Mozilla Firefox 23.0+ for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux Safari 6+ for Mac OSX 10.7 and above | Supported Phones & Tablets: Android 4.0.3 and above iPhone/iPad with iOS 6.1 or above |
COURSE FORMAT/MEDIUM: Internet CME Activity
ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETE: 30 minutes
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
This activity is sponsored by National Association for Continuing Education.
This educational activity is supported by an independent educational grant from Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.
Copyright © 2016 National Association for Continuing Education. All rights reserved. These materials may be used for personal use only. Any rebroadcast, distribution, or reuse of this presentation or any part of it in any form for other than personal use without the express written permission of NACE is prohibited.