Cardiovascular Nursing Practice: A Comprehensive Resource Manual and

Study Guide for Clinical Nurses

Sandra Pelczynski and Mary Kay Jiricka
Crit Care Nurse 2008;28:81-82
© 2008 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Critical Care Nurse is the official peer-reviewed clinical journal of the American
Association of Critical-Care Nurses, published bi-monthly by The InnoVision Group
101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656. Telephone: (800) 899-1712, (949) 362-2050,
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 Book Reviews
Cardiovascular
Nursing Practice:
A Comprehensive
Resource Manual
and Study Guide
for Clinical Nurses
Carol Jacobson, Karen Marzlin, Cynthia
Webner. Burien, WA: Cardiovascular Nursing
Education Associates; 2007. Softcover,
916 pages.
Reviewed by Sandra Pelczynski,
RN, MS, and Mary Kay Jiricka, RN,
MSN, CCRN
C
ardiovascular Nursing Practice,
by Jacobson, Marzlin, and
Webner, is a comprehensive
reference for the complex care needs
of cardiovascular patients. The book
contains 18 chapters that are dedicated
to cardiac anatomy and physiology,
assessment, oxygenation, hemodynam-
ics, and cardiac rhythm analysis along
with 12-lead electrocardiography inter-
pretation and cardiovascular drugs.
http://ccn.aacnjournals.org
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The book covers the spectrum of
medical and surgical cardiovascular dis-
eases and interventions, with addi-
tional chapters dedicated to risk factor
prevention, acute coronary syndrome,
heart failure, cardiomyopathy, electrical
management of dysrhythmias, pace-
makers, cardiac catheterization and
interventional cardiology, cardiovascular
surgery, and peripheral and cerebral
vascular states. The authors also
include chapters on noncardiac disease
states that affect cardiac patients. Top-
ics in these chapters include pul-
monary pathophysiology, sepsis, and
renal and electrolyte abnormalities.
Each chapter includes a combination
of prose, illustrations, bulleted text,
“Linking Knowledge to Practice” sec-
tions, patient and family teaching points,
self-assessment questions, and refer-
ences. The “Linking Knowledge to
Practice” sections provide pertinent
and practical clinical application infor-
mation that links complex physiologi-
cal issues to clinical practice. However,
there is no consistent format as to how
this information is presented in differ-
ent chapters. In some chapters the
“Linking Knowledge to Practice” con-
tent is listed at the end of the chapter
whereas in other chapters it is inter-
spersed throughout the body of the
chapter. These links provide key prac-
tical application information and their
importance may often be lost when
interspersed throughout the chapter.
In the preface of the book, the
authors state that this book is targeted
to clinical nurses who work in a variety
of settings as well as educators and
advanced practice cardiovascular clini-
cal nurse specialists. The content of
each chapter ranges from basic to
CRITICALCARENURSE Vol 28, No. 3, JUNE 2008 81
advanced knowledge. This is especially
illustrated in the 12-lead section, in
which content of the chapter may be
cumbersome to novice nurses who may
need more supplemental information.
Overall, the strengths of the book
include the many illustrations that
enhance text descriptions of anatomy,
physiology, and complex pathophysi-
ological concepts and tables that
summarize the major points of each
chapter. For example, the Cardiovas-
cular Drugs chapter provides compre-
hensive tables of the reviewed materials.
Some chapters include patient and
family teaching points that are of value
to clinical practitioners. This is best
evidenced in the Acute Coronary
Syndrome and Heart Failure chapters.
The “Test Your Knowledge” section,
at the end of each chapter, helps the
clinical practitioner assess their grasp
of key concepts from each chapter.
The Glossary and Abbreviations
sections at the end of the book provide
the reader with definitions of key
concepts for quick reference. The ref-
erences at the end of each chapter
are current, mainly from 2002 to pres-
ent, and may be used to help identify
supplemental information.
The variety of the formats (prose,
bullet points, illustrations, tables and
test questions) of the information pre-
sented in Cardiovascular Nursing
Practice offer readers different options
for mastering these topics. However,
although comprehensive, this book
lacks a thorough discussion related to
patient and family psychosocial needs.
In summary the authors have com-
piled a practical and comprehensive
resource for novice cardiovascular
clinical nurses as well as advanced
 practice cardiovascular clinical nurse specialists. Cardiovas-
cular Nursing Practice is a valuable reference for practicing
nurses as well as nurses who are preparing for a certifica-
tion examination.

Sandra Pelczynski is a clinical nurse specialist in cardiac med-

ical services at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, WI.

Mary Kay Jiricka is a staff nurse in the cardiac intensive care

unit at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, WI.

To Improve Health and Health Care:

Volume XI
Stephen L. Isaacs and David C. Colby, eds. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass; 2008. Softcover,
262 pages. ISBN: 978-0-7879-8638-4
From the world’s largest philanthropic
foundation dedicated exclusively to health
and health care, in this year’s anthology
the country’s leading science and medical journalists join
academic experts to describe compelling nationwide proj-
ects where the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation uses its
vast resources to fulfill its mission of improving the health
and health care of all Americans.

Help Is Not a Four-Letter Word

Peggy Collins. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill;
2007. Hardcover, 193 pages. ISBN-10: 0-07-
147790-X; ISBN-13: 978-0-07-147790-1
Self-sufficiency syndrome: You feel
you need to do everything and can’t ask
for help. It’s like you’re on a runaway
train, but won’t pull the emergency cord.
Author Peggy Collins calls herself a reformed “Self Suffi-
cient.” Self-tests, case studies, and stress busting exercises
point the way to overcoming self-sufficiency.

Laughing Sickness: A Medical

Mystery
Anne Black Gray. Austin, TX: Bridgeway Books;
2007. Hardcover, 361 pages. ISBN-10: 1-933538-
93-7; ISBN-13: 978-1-933538-93-8
Laughter as a coping response to a
disabling, hard-to-diagnose illness. More
than that, an insider’s tour of the health-
care system, its professionals, employers, parents, friends,
and coworkers discriminate when faced with the conun-
drum of an unsolvable diagnostic mystery.

Find more Book Reviews on the CCN Web site!

To access previous book reviews go to our Web site,
http://ccn.aacnjournals.org.

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