Cardiovascular and Neurovascular Care for the Frontline Clinician
Be empowered and equipped to handle most any type of cardiovascular emergency with The Heart Course self‑study program.
Learn and apply emerging data, new guidelines, and optimal treatment strategies for the management of cardiac and vascular emergencies.
Course Topics:
- Faster Than a Speeding Bullet: Narrow Complex Tachycardias
- Atrial Fibrillation Risk Stratification
- Wide Complex Tachycardias
- Bradydysrhythmias
- Cardiac Arrest Care
- For the Faint of Heart: Cardiogenic Syncope
- "Remember that Patient...?" - Legal Disasters in ACS
- Smaller Hearts, Not Smaller Emergencies - Part 1 (Pediatric Cardiac Emergencies)
- Smaller Hearts, Not Smaller Emergencies - Part 2 (Pediatric ECG, Primer, Syncope, Myocarditis)
- Cardiotoxic Drugs of Abuse
- Don’t Just Do Something…Stand There!
- STEMI Mimics You’ve Got to Know!
- Anterior Circulation Stroke: Management and Updates
- Cardiogenic Shock
- Ripping It to Pieces: Acute Aortic Dissection
- Welcome to the Machine: Device Emergencies
- Potpourri
- Endovascular Therapy: State-of-the-Art Stroke Care
- Posterior Stroke
- Subarachnoid Hemorrhage…and Other Thunderclap Headaches
Watch or Listen Instantly and Earn Up to 10.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
The Ultimate in Convenience to Meet Your Busy Schedule
- Don’t miss family/work obligations
- Avoid the expense and hassles of travel
- Available in a variety of formats to suit your needs
- Learn at your own pace and on your own time
Sample Lectures
Expand Your Knowledge of ECG Interpretation With the Optional ECG Workshop Presented by Amal Mattu, MD
Learn MoreMaster the accurate interpretation of ECGs and the evidence-based care of the acute cardiac patient.
Meet Our Expert Faculty
Our energetic and knowledgeable faculty will provide you with state-of-the-art updates in ways to optimize the care of the acute cardiac patient.
Amer Aldeen, MD, FACEP
Dr. Amer Aldeen is Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of US Acute Care Solutions, responsible for education, safety, quality, innovation, risk management, recruiting, research, clinician engagement, and patient experience. He also serves as chair of the Clinician Assurance Risk Retention Group (CARRG) Board and was previously the vice chair of the National Clinical Governance Board and Executive Medical Director of the Center for Emergency Medical Education. Dr. Aldeen joined USACS in 2014 from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago where he had been Associate Medical Director and Associate Residency Director of emergency medicine. The Amer Aldeen Junior Faculty Teaching Award at Northwestern is named after him.
Laura Bontempo, MD, MEd, FACEP, FAAEM
Dr. Laura Bontempo is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She received her medical degree from Northwestern University in 1994 and subsequently completed an emergency medicine residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She spent 5 years at Harvard University as the Associate Emergency Medicine Program Director and then was recruited to Yale University to become the Emergency Medicine Program Director, a position she held for 7 years. Dr. Bontempo completed a Master of Education degree with a concentration in health professional education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She has received teaching awards in emergency medicine from Harvard, Yale and Northwestern Universities and the University of Maryland. She has received national teaching awards from both the American Academy of Emergency Medicine and the American College of Emergency Physicians. In 2023, Dr. Bontempo joined the AAEM Board of Directors. Dr. Bontempo is published in multiple emergency medicine textbooks and journals and has lectured nationally in the areas of cardiology and otolaryngology.
Jestin Carlson, MD, MS, MHA
Dr. Jestin Carlson is the National Director of Clinical Education for USACS. He also is the Program Director for the Saint Vincent Emergency Medicine Residency and vice-chair of the Allegheny Health Network Institutional Review Board. Dr. Carlson has a focus on resuscitation research and education with more than 150 manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals. He sits on the international liaison committee on resuscitation/American Heart Association First Aid Task Force and the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory committee. He earned his medical degree at State University of New York at Buffalo, completed his emergency medicine residency and a research fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, and Master of Healthcare Administration from Gannon University.
Megan Fix, MD
Dr. Megan Fix is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She serves as the Vice Chair of Education for emergency medicine as well as the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs for the medical school. In addition to her academic positions, Dr. Fix is heavily involved in medical education on multiple levels. Dr. Fix has received several awards of recognition, including the “2020 ACEP National Emergency Medicine Faculty Teaching Award”.
Sujit Iyer, MD, FAAP
Dr. Sujit Iyer is the USACS National Director of Pediatric Services. He also is a Fellowship Director in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Associate Professor in Pediatrics at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. He has served as a Clinical instructor for the Departments of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania where he trained for residency, chief residency, and fellowship respectively.
Jaime Jordan, MD, MAEd
Dr. Jaime Jordan is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine. She received her medical degree from Albany Medical College and completed an emergency medicine residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She subsequently completed a medical education scholarship fellowship at Harbor-UCLA and a Master of Arts in Education with a focus on social research methodology at UCLA. She has served in multiple educational roles including Associate Program Director for the emergency medicine programs at Harbor-UCLA and UCLA/Olive View and Vice Chair of the Acute Care College at the David Geffen School of Medicine. She developed a new curriculum, Discovery, for the David Geffen School of Medicine and served as its inaugural director. Dr. Jordan is published in multiple emergency medicine textbooks and journals and has lectured nationally in the areas of medical education and education research.
Amal Mattu, MD, FAAEM, FACEP
Dr. Amal Mattu is a tenured professor and Vice Chair of emergency medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he has been on faculty since 1996. During the past 28 years, he has developed a niche in emergency cardiology, and he enjoys writing and teaching about this field. He is the author or editor of more than 30 books and the creator of ECGWeekly.com, a weekly video blog which trains more than 25,000 clinicians around the world in higher-level ECG skills. He has provided over 3000 hours of CME in the form of lectures, podcasts, and videocasts, primarily focused on emergency cardiology.
Peter S. Pang, MD, MS, FACEP, FACC, FAHA
Dr. Peter S. Pang is the Rolly McGrath Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine, with a joint appointment in the Department of Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He moved to Indiana in 2014 after 10 years at Northwestern University in Chicago as Associate Chief of the Department and Associate Director of Experimental Therapeutics in the Center for Cardiovascular Innovation. Dr. Pang went to medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and then completed residency and chief residency at the Brigham and Women’s / Massachusetts General Hospital combined program in Emergency Medicine. His primary research area is acute heart failure with past funding from NIH, AHA, and the AHRQ. He has published extensively in this area and served as Associate Editor of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology-Heart Failure and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Cardiac Failure. He still loves clinical medicine and the privilege and opportunity to improve health. He has two wonderful sons, and the greatest wife and partner ever.
Testimonials
Don’t just take our word for it, see what your colleagues are saying about The Heart Course.
Amazing. The standard in EM education!
Great information to help increase my knowledge and understanding. The ECG workshop was very helpful. I really enjoyed the course.
All instructors were excellent, up-to-date on topics, interesting and kept the course moving along.
I enjoyed all of the faculty and learned from each. I loved doing this via home on the computer at my own pace. much more relaxed.
Faculty very informative and easy to follow along!
Excellent speakers all around. Definitely one of the better conferences I have been to.
All of the presentations met and exceeded my needs/expectations.
I thought all the speakers were great, material presented was relevant, and realistic.
All the speakers were magnificent in their knowledge and delivery of information.
Dr. Mattu is an excellent speaker and educator. He presents the material in a way that makes it accessible and easy to follow and understand.
Each lecture was short and to the point.
Amal Mattu is possibly the best lecturer I have seen in the field of medicine.
The Heart Course
Self-Study CME Accreditation
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of the Center for Emergency Medical Education and The Center for Medical Education, Inc.
The Center for Emergency Medical Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The Center for Emergency Medical Education designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 10.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
The Center for Medical Education, Inc. is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #12345, for 10.75 Contact Hours. Certificates must be retained by the licensee for a period of four years after the course ends.
The AOA automatically recognizes AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ as Category 2 credit.
Both PA and NP organizations recognize AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ as approved CME.
CME Expiration Date: March 1, 2028.
Target Audience
The Heart Course is intended for physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and advanced practice professionals that provide care to patients with acute cardiovascular problems.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this self-study program, participants will be able to:
- Discuss chest pain risk stratification by exploring the ins and outs of the HEART score.
- Identify the evidence-based strategies for the management of patients with acute coronary syndrome (STEMI, and UA/ NSTEMI), atrial fibrillation, heart failure, transient ischemic attack (TIA), stroke, and cerebral hemorrhage.
- Describe the mechanisms of action and optimal evidence-based use of new and emerging cardiovascular medications, including new oral anticoagulants (NOAC) therapy and reversal agents.
- Demonstrate state-of-the-art resuscitation strategies for patients presenting with cardiovascular emergencies.
- Evaluate and initiate appropriate treatment strategies for high-risk, high-threat electrocardiography (ECG) findings and unusual dysrhythmias.
- Discuss the emerging data on current and novel biomarkers in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
- Identify optimal antiplatelet and anticoagulant management strategies for patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), atrial fibrillation (AF), venous thromboembolism (VTE), and stroke.
- Determine evidence-based best practices in the management of device-related emergencies in patients with cardiac disease, including ventricular assist devices (VADs), pacemakers, and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).
- Discuss chest pain risk stratification by exploring the ins and outs of the HEART score.