Cardiac Disease, Surgical Intervention, and Dysphagia Correlations

Presented by Jo Puntil

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Video Runtime: 57 Minutes, Learning Assessments: 31 Minutes

Speech pathologists and acute care rehab clinicians are faced with growing caseloads of patients with cardiac disorders and the sequelae of disease progression. We are asked to see patients in the intensive care or cardiopulmonary unit with acute or chronic cardiac disease. In this course, participants will learn about cardiac anatomy/physiology, diseases, and how these issues can interfere with everyday living, including mobility and eating and drinking safely. Patients face decisions on how to treat their diseases, first empirically and then with possible surgical interventions. Cardiac catheter interventions and surgical interventions will be discussed. Current research regarding why patients may experience post-op swallowing disorders will be covered, as well as how to implement a pre- and post-op swallow screen in your institution. This course will increase your critical thinking skills for assessing and treating patients with adult cardiac disorders.

Meet your instructor

Jo Puntil

Jo Puntil is an ASHA Fellow, past chair of the CFCC, and a board-certified specialist in swallowing and swallowing disorders. She has extensive experience in developing interdisciplinary rehab programs/teams throughout southern California and Utah, specifically in the areas of critical and acute care. Jo has lectured…

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Chapters & learning objectives

Cardiac Teams/Roles and Heart Function

1. Cardiac Teams/Roles and Heart Function

Speech pathologists and rehab clinicians will have a clear understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the cardiac system and the roles of the people on the cardiac team.

Heart Disease and Causes

2. Heart Disease and Causes

The participant will understand why people have heart disease and the risks associated with each disease process. Normal and abnormal rates and rhythms will be discussed, as well as what causes those changes in patients.

Cardiac Procedures and Surgeries

3. Cardiac Procedures and Surgeries

Participants will gain knowledge of why patients have procedures in the cath lab versus needing more invasive surgical intervention. TAVR, MVR, AVR, and CABG procedures will be discussed. Videos will be provided so the speech pathologist can better understand why patients may have difficulty postoperatively.

Swallowing Issues Post CV Surgery, Current Research, and How to Implement a Pre- and Post-op Swallow Screen in Your Institution

4. Swallowing Issues Post CV Surgery, Current Research, and How to Implement a Pre- and Post-op Swallow Screen in Your Institution

This chapter will cover the possible postoperative swallowing issues and what the medical speech pathologist can do to help these patients. A review of current literature and how to implement a swallow screen for all CV surgical patients will be discussed.

Questions and Answers

5. Questions and Answers

This is the time for speech pathologists to dive deeper into the disease processes of CV patients and their dysphagia correlations.