Built on the ACC Core Curriculum.
Validated Against Current ACC/AHA Guidelines.
The APP Cardiology Academy is not a general cardiology survey. Every lesson maps to a specific ACC Core Curriculum domain and is built from current ACC/AHA clinical practice guidelines — with Class of Recommendation and Level of Evidence cited for every management recommendation.
The ACC Core Curriculum — Section by Section
The American College of Cardiology Core Curriculum for Cardiovascular Care defines the foundational knowledge base for cardiovascular practice. It is the framework that underlies the Certified Cardiac Knowledge Exam (CCKE) and the clinical competency expectations for APPs entering cardiovascular specialty roles.
The APP Cardiology Academy covers every major ACC Core Curriculum domain across 16 lessons, organized into five clinical sections. The mapping below shows how the Academy curriculum aligns with the ACC framework.
| Academy Section | ACC Core Curriculum Domain | Primary Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1: Core Clinical Skills | Cardiovascular Assessment & Diagnostics | ACC/AHA ECG Standards; AHA Cardiac Physical Exam |
| Section 2: Heart Failure & Cardiomyopathy | Heart Failure & Cardiomyopathy | 2022 ACC/AHA/HFSA Heart Failure Guidelines |
| Section 3: Coronary Artery Disease & ACS | Ischemic Heart Disease | ACC/AHA STEMI, NSTEMI, Stable Ischemic Heart Disease Guidelines |
| Section 4: Arrhythmia Management | Cardiac Arrhythmias & Electrophysiology | 2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines; ACC/AHA VT Guidelines |
| Section 5: Special Populations & Vascular | Hypertension; Vascular Disease; Valvular Disease; Preventive Cardiology | ACC/AHA Hypertension, PAD, Valvular Heart Disease, Cardiovascular Risk Guidelines |
All guidelines reflect current ACC/AHA publications at time of curriculum revision.
Guideline Precision — Class of Recommendation, Level of Evidence
Cardiology guidelines are not binary. A Class I recommendation ("benefit greatly exceeds risk, should be performed") is not the same as Class IIa ("benefit exceeds risk, reasonable to perform") or Class IIb ("benefit may exceed risk, may be considered"). Teaching them as equivalent produces providers who cannot reason through clinical edge cases.
Every management recommendation in the APP Cardiology Academy is taught with its guideline class and level of evidence explicitly stated. This is how cardiologists discuss clinical decisions with their teams, and it is how APPs in cardiology should communicate.
LBBB and STEMI
Left bundle branch block does not automatically trigger a STEMI pathway. Current ACC/AHA guidelines require Sgarbossa criteria (score ≥3) for STEMI consideration in LBBB. Many resources still teach the old approach. This course teaches the current standard — because the distinction directly affects patient care decisions.
AF Rate Control
Rate control for atrial fibrillation is a Class IIa recommendation — reasonable to perform, not mandated. The course presents this accurately with the evidence base for rate versus rhythm selection. Teaching it as Class I misrepresents the guideline and the clinical decision framework.
Heart Failure: H-ISDN
Hydralazine-isosorbide dinitrate (H-ISDN) for heart failure when RAAS therapy is not tolerated is a Class I recommendation. This is a self-directed management option that APPs in heart failure practice need to know — not a footnote. It is taught as Class I, because it is.
GDMT in HFrEF
The four pillars of guideline-directed medical therapy for HFrEF — ACE inhibitor/ARB/ARNi, beta-blocker, MRA, and SGLT2 inhibitor — are each taught with their individual Class I indications, dosing targets, and monitoring requirements. Gaps in GDMT implementation are a leading cause of preventable heart failure hospitalization.
Maintained by a Clinician in Active Practice
Clinical guidelines in cardiology change. The 2022 ACC/AHA Heart Failure Guidelines reclassified HF stages and updated GDMT evidence. The 2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS AF Guidelines significantly updated rhythm control recommendations and anticoagulation evidence. A curriculum that was accurate in 2020 may teach outdated management in the same areas where guidance shifted most.
Paul Logan sees cardiology patients at WellSpan Cardiology every week. When guidelines update, he is practicing against them — not reading about the changes in a journal summary. The Academy curriculum is reviewed against guideline updates as they are published. The goal is that no lesson teaches a management strategy the current ACC/AHA has superseded.
Fully Labeled — Built for Independent Learners
The APP Cardiology Academy is a self-paced program. Learners work through lessons without an instructor present to clarify ambiguous slides or fill in unstated clinical context. This creates a specific design requirement: every claim must be complete and self-explanatory as presented.
All diagrams, figures, and clinical decision tools are fully labeled. All abbreviations are defined on first use. All drug references include the generic name, mechanism, and clinical indication. No element of a lesson requires outside knowledge to interpret — the lesson itself provides the full context.
This is the standard we apply because we know how these materials are actually used: by an NP sitting in a call room at 6am before rounds, reviewing the lesson on acute decompensated heart failure before seeing their first patient on their new cardiology service. That learner cannot pause the video and ask a question. The lesson needs to be complete.
Paul Logan, PhD, CRNP — Cardiology NP Since 1994
AG-ACNP Program Director, Saint Joseph's University • Active Clinical Practice, WellSpan Cardiology
Paul Logan graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's acute care nurse practitioner program in 1994 — among the first cohort of ACNPs in the United States. He has practiced in cardiology for more than 30 years and serves as AG-ACNP Program Director at Saint Joseph's University.
The ACC Core Curriculum alignment in this Academy is not aspirational — it reflects the same framework Paul uses when preparing ACNP students for cardiology rotations and board examinations. The guideline accuracy standards are the same standards he applies in patient care. He knows which clinical distinctions NPs and PAs get wrong in cardiology because he trains and corrects them every semester.
Credentials
- PhD — Nursing Education
- CRNP — Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner
- University of Pennsylvania, 1994 — one of the first ACNPs in the U.S.
- 30+ years cardiology clinical practice, WellSpan Cardiology
- AG-ACNP Program Director, Saint Joseph's University
Questions About the Clinical Standards
Is the APP Cardiology Academy built on the ACC Core Curriculum?
Yes. All 16 lessons map directly to ACC Core Curriculum domains — cardiovascular assessment, heart failure, coronary artery disease, arrhythmia management, preventive cardiology, and vascular disease. The curriculum is not a general cardiology survey; it follows the ACC's own framework for what APPs in cardiovascular practice need to know.
Which ACC/AHA clinical practice guidelines does the Academy follow?
Each lesson is built against the current ACC/AHA guideline for that clinical domain. This includes the 2022 ACC/AHA/HFSA Heart Failure Guidelines, 2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines, ACC/AHA ACS Guidelines (STEMI, NSTEMI), ACC/AHA Hypertension Guidelines, ACC/AHA Valvular Heart Disease Guidelines, and ACC/AHA Stable Ischemic Heart Disease Guidelines. All recommendations are cited with Class of Recommendation and Level of Evidence.
How does the Academy handle guideline updates?
Paul Logan maintains an active clinical practice at WellSpan Cardiology and applies current guidelines in patient care weekly. Curriculum content is reviewed against guideline updates as they are published. The goal is that no lesson teaches a management strategy that the current ACC/AHA guideline has superseded. Curriculum update dates are tracked per lesson.
Does the Cardiology Academy prepare NPs and PAs for the CCKE?
The Certified Cardiac Knowledge Exam (CCKE) is developed against the ACC Core Curriculum framework — the same framework this Academy is built on. While the Academy is not marketed as a CCKE review course, its systematic lesson-by-lesson coverage of ACC Core Curriculum domains provides meaningful CCKE preparation. Providers using the Academy to prepare for CCKE should supplement with the CCKE-specific content outline published by ACC.
How precise is the guideline accuracy?
Clinical claims in the Academy are matched to current ACC/AHA Class of Recommendation and Level of Evidence. Distinctions that many resources blur — LBBB and Sgarbossa criteria, AF rate control as Class IIa not Class I, H-ISDN as Class I for RAAS-intolerant heart failure patients — are taught correctly. These distinctions matter in specialty practice and in credentialing conversations with supervising cardiologists.
Ready to Build Your Cardiology Foundation?
16 lessons. 100% ACC Core Curriculum. Current ACC/AHA guidelines throughout. Built by a cardiologist NP with 30 years of practice.