An Interprofessional Approach to Address Dysphagia with Cardiopulmonary Disorders

Course Description:

There is a high risk of dysphagia with both cardiac and pulmonary patients which may often not be anticipated in healthcare facilities. Furthermore, the management of swallowing disorders with this population is often delegated to one team member, which may not include or allow the team approach to address all the related issues.

Dysphagia with cardiopulmonary patients may often significantly affect a person’s clinical outcome, to include their length of hospital stay, their prognosis for recovery, their nutritional status and other quality of life issues. This course will initially provide significant factors about different types of cardiac and pulmonary disease and will then share evidence from several studies of how and why dysphagia may be common with such patients with a variety of conditions. Factors of relevant medications will be shared for the participant to optimally understand the risks of certain medications and drug classes. Significant time will then be spent explaining both the risks and benefits of modified diets and thickeners as such recommendations can be complicated. The relevance of all such factors will be shared from the perspective of different healthcare team members to encourage interprofessional practice for optimal outcomes from the perspective of each discipline. Case studies will be included throughout the course.