Two School of Nursing faculty members gave presentations at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2012 on Nov. 6 and 7, in Los Angeles, Calif.
Lisa Kitko, assistant professor of nursing, gave an invited presentation on “Family and Caregivers in Advanced Heart Failure” as part of a cardiovascular seminar titled “Palliative Care Interventions in Advanced Heart Failure.”
Kitko and Judith Hupcey, associate dean for graduate education and associate professor in the School of Nursing and College of Medicine, presented two abstract oral sessions: “Home Health Care Services for Heart Failure Patients and Family Caregiver Dyads at End of Life” (part of a panel on “Psychosocial Issues and End of Life in Heart Disease”) and “The Experience of Caring for a Spouse with End-Stage Heart Failure Following Implantation of a Left Ventricular Assist Device as Destination Therapy” (part of a panel titled “Cardiovascular Disease Is a Family Affair”).
The AHA’s Scientific Sessions is the leading cardiovascular meeting in the United States, with more than 19,000 cardiovascular experts from more than 105 countries. It is the AHA’s largest gathering of scientists and health care professionals devoted to cardiovascular disease, stroke, and the care of patients with these diseases.