ANVC Connect - July 27

What's in a Name?
Have you ever been asked, “What are all those letters after your name?” For many of us, our entire careers are found in the letters after our name, and we should be proud of every single one of them. Certification in a specialty indicates a mastery of knowledge in that specialty. ANVC offers board exams for the NVRN (Neurovascular Registered Nurse), ANVP (Advanced Neurovascular Practitioner), and ASC (Advanced Stroke Coordinator). If you have passed those exams, you are now entitled to use the NVRN-BC (Neurovascular Registered Nurse – Board Certified), ANVP-BC (Advanced Neurovascular Practitioner – Board Certified) or the ASC-BC (Advanced Stroke Coordinator – Board Certified) credential to identify yourself as meeting the rigorous qualifications supporting this board examination. ANVC's certification credentials should not be used without the “-BC” after them when signing your name, as this does not signify board certification. As long as you maintain recertification requirements, you may continue to use those credentials.

Be proud of being “boarded” in the neurovascular specialty! Change your email signatures, letterhead, presentation credentials to reflect your mastery of knowledge in this very challenging specialty. The next time someone asks that question, you can be proud of your achievement and take the opportunity to ask why more people aren’t more like you – board certified.

News to Use
The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) has released a new guideline recently targeting the secondary prevention of stroke, aka, the prevention of future stroke in ischemic stroke or TIA patients.¹ AHA/ASA is now presenting guidelines in a “modular knowledge chunk format” which has been designed to enhance user friendliness. This guideline addresses the following 10 secondary prevention strategies in this patient population:

Diagnostic workup for specific subtypes of ischemic stroke to define the mechanism and etiology in order to identify targets for treatment;
Management of vascular risk factors with individualized goals for patients designed by multi-disciplinary teams;
Lifestyle modification strategies, especially diet and activity;
Use of theoretical models for behavioral change supported by multi-disciplinary teams;
Antithrombotic therapy, including recommendations about combination of antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapy (with a few exceptions);
Anticoagulation for patients with known atrial fibrillation and longer term monitoring for suspected occult atrial fibrillation;
Treatment for extracranial carotid artery disease;
Aggressive medical management as first line therapy for severe intracranial stenosis in vascular territory of stroke or TIA;
Closure of Patent foramen ovale (PFO);
Use of anticoagulation or ticagrelor in patients with embolic stroke of unknown origin (ESUS)

Click HERE to read the guideline. For more discussion, go to the ANVC Members Only Discussion Forum!

1. Kleindorfer DO, Towfighi A, Chaturvedi S, et al. 2021 Guideline for the Prevention of Stroke in Patients With Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack: A Guideline From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke 2021;52:e364-e467.

ANVC Calendar - July/ August
Click HERE for the 2021 calendar to register for the following ANVC events as well as to register for events throughout the year.

ASC Course – Virtual
Fri/Sat July 30 – 31 10:00 AM EDT – 4:15 PM EDT

NVRN Review Course - Virtual
Fri/Sat Aug 20 – 21 9:00 AM EDT – 6:00 PM EDT

ANVP Rapid Review Course
Wed Aug 25 9:00 AM EDT – 5:00 PM EDT

You will receive instructions on how to register for the certification exam through Prometric testing centers; certification exam must be completed within one year of review course.

ANVC Webinar Series: Improving Metrics Using a Nurse Driven Code Stroke Protocol
Thu Aug 26 3:00 PM EDT – 4:00 PM EDT
Presented by Jackie Owens, BSN, MHA/ED, RN, ASC-BC