Mar 15, 2026  
GRCC Curriculum Database (2025-2026 Academic Year) 
    
GRCC Curriculum Database (2025-2026 Academic Year)
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CVT 205 - Cardiovascular Pharmacology


Description
This course provides the pharmacological background necessary for clinical education experience in the cardiac catheterization lab. It includes pharmacological classification of medications, mechanisms of action, indications, contraindications, application to the treatment of cardiovascular disease, and effects on the hemodynamic and electrophysiological variables.
Credit Hours: 1
Contact Hours: 1
Prerequisites/Other Requirements: None
English Prerequisite(s): None
Math Prerequisite(s): None
Course Corequisite(s): None
Academic Program Prerequisite:
Consent to Enroll in Course: Department Consent Required
Dual Enrollment Allowed?: No
Course Fees: $157.00
Number of Times Course can be taken for credit: 1
Programs Where This Course is a Requirement:
Cardiovascular Technology, A.A.A.S., Cardiovascular Technology, Certificate
General Education Requirement:
None
General Education Learner Outcomes (GELO):
NA
Course Learning Outcomes:
  1. Explain the current legal status and professional liability issues of the invasive cardiovascular specialist’s role in contrast media and drug administration.
  2. Describe the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles of medications.
  3. Explain the applications and physiological effects of medication categories and respective medications used for the cardiovascular patient.
  4. Recognize the generic and trade names of medications used in the cardiac catheterization lab setting.
  5. Identify medication indications, contraindications, mechanism of action, normal dosages, side effects, and patient considerations.

 
Course Outline:
 

Wk 1: Chapter One: Pharamacology: An Introduction
-KeyTerms
-Drug sources, terminology and basic concepts
-Drug safety, nomenclature, drug laws and legal aspects
Chapter Two: Pharmacokinetics and Factors of Individual Variation
-Drug forms and routes of administration
-Pharmacokinetic Process
-Clinical factors of intenstity and individual variation
-Pediatric considerations
-Drug interactions, drug use and drug abuse
Wk 2: Chapter Three: Geriatric Pharmacology
-Drug use, absorbtion and distribution in the elderly
-Drug metabolism and excretion
-Effects of age on drug response and drug compliance
Chapter Four: Math Review and Dosage Calculations
-Fractions, decimals and percents
-Dosage calculations
-Calculating Dosages and pediatric dosages
Wk 3: Chapter Ten: Local Anesthetics
-Mechanism of action, types, and routes of administration
-Cardiovascular effects and adverse effects
-Clinical applications and special considerations
Chapter Twenty One: Review of Cardiac Physiology and Pathology
-Cardiac muscle, conduction, EKG, and nerve supply
-Main diseases of the heart
Chapter Twenty Two: Treatment of Heart Failure
-Chronic heart failure, diuretic therapy, vasodilator therapy
-Adrenergic Beta-Blockers in CHF
-Cardiac glycosides
Wk 4: Chapter Twenty Three: Antiarrhythmic Drugs
-Types of Arrhythmias
-Classes 1-4 Antiarrhythmic drugs
-Special considerations and preferred therapy
Chapter Twenty Four: Antianginal Drugs
-Classification of angina pectoris
-Nitrates
-Beta-adrenergic blocking drugs
-Calcium channel blockers
-Preferred therapy for treatment of angina
Wk 5: Chapter Twenty Five: Diuretics
-Clinical indication for diuretic use
-Renal physiology and conditions associate with renal dysfunction
-Osmotic diuretics
-Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors
-Thiazide, Thiazide-like, and organic acid (loop) diuretics
-Potassium-sparing diuretics
-ADH antagonists and miscellaneous diuretics
-Preferred treatment, adverse effects, and drug interactions
Wk 6: Chapter Twenty Six: Antihypertensive Drugs
-Physiologic factors that determine blood pressure
-Factors affecting blood pressure
-Diuretics
-Drugs that reduce sympathetic activity
-Vasodilator drugs
-Drugs that reduce the activity of Angiotensin II
-Treatment of hypertensive crisis
-Patient education and monitoring, preferred treatment
Chapter Twenty Seven: Anticoagulants and Coagulants
-Blood clot formation
-Anticoagulant mechanism of action
-Charasteristics of the Heparins
-Oral anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs
-Special considerations, contraindications, and drug interactions
-Fibrinolytic/thrombolytic drugs
-Clinical uses of coagulants/hemostatics
Wk 7: Chapter Thirty Two: Hypolipidemic Drugs
-Atherosclerosis and arterial disease
-Lipids, lipoproteins, and cholesterol
-Classes of hypolipidemic drugs
-HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors: Statins
-Cholesterol absorption inhibitors
-Bile acid sequestrants and other hypolipidemic drugs
-Contraindications and drug interactions
Final Exam

Approved for Online and Hybrid Delivery?:
No
Instructional Strategies:
  • Lecture: 30-40%
  • Group Work & Indiviudal Assignments: 25-35%
  • Discussion/Participation: 10-20%

 
Mandatory Course Components:
NA
Equivalent Courses:
NA


Name of Industry Recognize Credentials: None

Course-Specific Placement Test: NA
Course Aligned with ARW/IRW Pairing: NA
Mandatory Department Assessment Measures:
NA
Course Type:
Program Requirement- Offering designed to meet the learning needs of students in a specific GRCC program.
Course Format:
Lecture - 1:1
Total Lecture Hours Per Week: 1
Total Fieldwork Hours Per Week: NA
People Soft Course ID Number: 105190
Course CIP Code: 51.9999
Maximum Course Enrollment: 25
School: School of Health & Exercise Science
Department: Allied Health
Discipline: CVT
First Term Valid: Winter 2023 (1/1/2023)
1st Catalog Year: 2022-2023
Name of Course Author:
Julie Lackscheide
Faculty Credential Requirements:
Certification/License Requirement (list below), Other (list below), Program Accreditation Requirement (list below)
Faculty Credential Requirement Details:
1) Bachelor’s degree
2) Hold a cardiovascular credential from at least one of the concentrations identified in these
Standards;
3) Have at least two years’ experience in cardiovascular health care;
Course Review & Revision Year: 2027-2028



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