The UMC Utrecht Center for Circulatory Health launched a new MOOC 'Advanced Heart Failure' on October 1st. The MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) offers specialists and general practitioners an introduction to the world of advanced heart failure care at UMC Utrecht. The MOOC can be found on the educational platform of the Center for Circulatory Health.

The MOOC “Advanced Heart Failure" addresses the care of patients with advanced heart failure. Advanced heart failure is a complex disease with ever-changing treatment options. The course provides insight into the patient groups at highest risk for advanced heart failure and the criteria for referral of a patient to a specialized heart failure clinic. In addition, the course describes treatment options for patients with advanced heart failure. For this you follow the fictional heart failure patient James in the course.

The purpose of the MOOC is to familiarize medical professionals with the criteria for a patient's referral and treatment options for advanced heart failure. The MOOC is a free online course for medical professionals, specialists and general practitioners. Participants can take the course online at any time and from any location. The MOOC consists of three parts and contains case studies, articles, quiz, films, animation and assignments. After completing all parts of the MOOC, participants will receive a certificate. The MOOC is not accredited.

Education widely available
The UMC Utrecht Center for Circulatory Health has developed the international MOOC together with Elevate Health and wants to use the MOOC to make education and knowledge widely available to medical professionals. Specialists at UMC Utrecht investigate heart failure across the full spectrum: from supporting primary care physicians in early discovery to studies and treatments with mechanical support devices and heart transplantation.