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Specialist trackCardiology for prescribers
Six modules on the cardiovascular prescribing decisions you will actually face, led by a consultant interventional cardiologist.
Who it's forPharmacists, nurses, paramedics and other prescribers adding cardiovascular conditions to their scope of practice.
Price£249 for all six modules, £349 with an assessed case review and certificate, or £49 per module.
Clinical reviewLed and reviewed by a consultant interventional cardiologist, with specialist pharmacist input on anticoagulation.
StatusOpening in stages from early 2027. Waitlist members get early access and founding prices.
6 modules
Open a module to see what you will be able to do by the end of it.
C1HypertensionDiagnose hypertension with ABPM or home readings, choose and titrate treatment step by step, and monitor kidney function and potassium safely.
By the end of this module you can:
- Confirm or exclude a diagnosis of hypertension using clinic, ambulatory (ABPM) and home (HBPM) readings, and grade it as stage 1, stage 2 or severe.
- Decide who needs drug treatment, using age, target organ damage, comorbidity and 10-year cardiovascular risk (QRISK3).
- Choose and titrate antihypertensives step by step in line with NICE NG136, adjusting for age, ethnicity, type 2 diabetes, CKD, pregnancy potential and heart failure.
- Set the right blood pressure target for the patient in front of you and plan monitoring of blood pressure, renal function and potassium.
- Recognise resistant and severe hypertension and the red flags that need same-day specialist assessment.
- Counsel patients on adherence, side effects, sick-day rules and lifestyle in a way that supports a shared decision.
C2LipidsAssess cardiovascular risk, choose statin intensity, reach lipid targets and manage intolerance, interactions and add-on treatments.
By the end of this module you can:
- Assess cardiovascular risk with QRISK3 and a full lipid profile, and identify people for whom QRISK3 should not be used.
- Recognise possible familial hypercholesterolaemia and severe hypertriglyceridaemia, and refer appropriately.
- Choose the right statin and dose for primary and secondary prevention in line with NICE NG238.
- Apply the NICE secondary prevention lipid target (LDL-C 2.0 mmol/L or less, or non-HDL-C 2.6 mmol/L or less) and escalate to ezetimibe, inclisiran, bempedoic acid, PCSK9 inhibitors or icosapent ethyl using the relevant NICE technology appraisals.
- Plan monitoring of lipids, liver function and muscle symptoms, and manage common statin interactions.
- Manage reported statin intolerance in a structured way that keeps as many people as possible on lipid-lowering treatment.
C3Atrial fibrillation and anticoagulationScore stroke and bleeding risk, choose and dose an anticoagulant correctly, and manage rate control, missed doses and bleeding.
By the end of this module you can:
- Recognise atrial fibrillation (AF), confirm it on a 12-lead ECG, and identify people who need emergency or same-day assessment.
- Assess stroke risk with CHA₂DS₂-VASc and bleeding risk with ORBIT, and use them to reach a shared decision about anticoagulation.
- Choose and dose a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) correctly, using Cockcroft–Gault creatinine clearance, age, weight and interacting drugs.
- Choose a rate-control drug and recognise when rhythm control or specialist referral is needed.
- Plan monitoring and annual review of anticoagulation, and manage missed doses, bleeding and interactions.
- Counsel patients on anticoagulation safely, including alert cards, bleeding symptoms and over-the-counter medicines.
C4After a heart attack or stentCheck secondary prevention after a heart attack or stent, plan antiplatelet duration, and avoid the errors that cause harm in the first year.
By the end of this module you can:
- Use a secondary prevention checklist after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or coronary stent, and confirm the indication for each medicine on a discharge prescription.
- Manage dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT): drug choice, duration, step-down and what to do when a patient also needs an anticoagulant.
- Titrate an ACE inhibitor and beta-blocker safely after MI, and recognise when an aldosterone antagonist or heart failure treatment is needed.
- Identify and manage important interactions and adverse effects of antiplatelets, nitrates and secondary prevention drugs.
- Recognise red flags after MI or PCI, including recurrent chest pain, bleeding and possible stent thrombosis, and refer appropriately.
- Counsel patients on why each medicine matters, cardiac rehabilitation, driving, return to activity and never stopping antiplatelets without advice.
C5Heart failureDiagnose and classify heart failure, start and titrate the core medicines safely, and manage kidney function, potassium and sick days.
By the end of this module you can:
- Use NT-proBNP results and the NICE referral thresholds to decide how fast a person with suspected heart failure needs specialist assessment and echocardiography.
- Classify heart failure by ejection fraction (HFrEF, HFmrEF, HFpEF) and NYHA class, and explain how the class changes drug choice.
- Describe the core drugs for HFrEF (ACE inhibitor, beta-blocker, MRA, SGLT2 inhibitor), when NICE advises an ARNI or ARB instead, and the 2025 NICE change that removed strict step-by-step sequencing.
- Start and titrate heart failure medicines safely, with correct starting doses, titration intervals and renal and potassium monitoring.
- Recognise drugs that worsen heart failure and common dangerous interactions, especially those causing hyperkalaemia or acute kidney injury.
- Counsel on daily weights, diuretic adjustment, sick day guidance and symptoms that need urgent review.
- Know your limits: when to seek heart failure specialist advice and when to refer urgently.
C6Prescribing safely in cardiologySafety checks for the highest-risk cardiovascular medicines: renal dosing, DOACs and warfarin, interactions, QT risk and escalation.
By the end of this module you can:
- Calculate creatinine clearance with the Cockcroft-Gault equation and use it to choose the correct DOAC dose.
- Identify the high-risk cardiovascular medicines (anticoagulants, antiplatelets, amiodarone, digoxin, potassium-raising drugs) and the monitoring each needs.
- Recognise and manage the main dangerous interactions in cardiology, including QT prolongation, statin interactions, the "triple whammy" and nitrate with PDE5 inhibitor.
- Manage over-anticoagulation and bleeding in line with BNF and local guidance, and know when to send a patient to hospital.
- Plan combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy safely, with gastroprotection and a clear stop date agreed with cardiology.
- Use clear counselling, sick day guidance and written information to reduce harm.
- Report and learn from incidents and adverse reactions (Yellow Card, Learn from Patient Safety Events).
Each module includes teaching content, worked cases, a 10-question quiz with explanations, a one-page prescribing summary and a short video. Courses support your learning and CPD; they do not confer prescribing rights.
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Join the waitlist
Be first in, at founding prices
Tell us where you are on your path. We will open the first modules to waitlist members early in 2027.