Below we have listed our selection of the 8 highest quality blog posts related to 3 advanced level questions on cardiovascular topics posed, curated, and approved for residency training by the AIR-Pro Series Board. The blogs relate to the following questions:
- Advanced concepts about Sgarbossa’s Criteria
- Troubleshooting pacemaker’s and automated implantable cardioverter defibrillators (AICD’s)
- Troubleshooting left ventricular assist devices (LVAD’s)
In this module, we have 5 AIR-Pro’s and 3 Honorable Mentions. To strive for comprehensiveness, we selected from a broad spectrum of blogs identified through FOAMSearch.net.
AIR-Pro Stamp of Approval and Honorable Mentions
In an effort to truly emphasize the highest quality posts, we have two subsets of recommended resources. The AIR-Pro stamp of approval will only be given to posts scoring above a strict scoring cut-off of ≥28 points (out of 35 total), based on our AIR-Pro scoring instrument, which is slightly different from our original AIR Series scoring instrument. The other subset is for “Honorable Mention” posts. These posts have been flagged by and agreed upon by AIR-Pro Board members as worthwhile, accurate, unbiased, appropriately referenced, and have a score of 26-27. All posts will still be part of the quiz needed to obtain III credit. To decrease the repetitive nature of posts relating to these advanced concepts, we did not always include every post found that met the score of ≥28 points.
Take the quiz at ALiEMU
ALiEMU AIR-Pro Cardiovascular block quiz
Cardiovascular Module 2015: Recommended III credit hours
2.5 hours (20 minutes per article)
AIR-Pro Cardiovascular Reading
| Article Title | Author | Date | Link | Title |
| Making Sense of Sgarbossa’s Criteria – Chest Pain and Left Bundle Branch Block – Part 2 | Tom Bouthillet | April 27, 2015 | ECG Medical Training, Sgarbossa Part 2 | AIR-Pro |
| Making Sense of Sgarbossa’s Criteria – Chest Pain and Left Bundle Branch Block – Part 3 | Tom Bouthillet | April 27, 2015 | ECG Medical Training, Sgarbossa Part 3 | AIR-Pro |
| Sgarbossa Criteria | Mike Cadogan & Chris Nickson | July 1, 2012 | Life in the Fast Lane: Sgarbossa | Honorable Mention |
| Is there value in testing troponin levels after ICD discharge? | Chris Targett & Tim Harris | Feb 26, 2014 | Best Bets | AIR-Pro |
| Temporary Pacemaker Troubleshooting | Chris Nickson | August 18, 2014 | Life in the Fast Lane: Pacemakers | Honorable Mention |
| Magnet | Chris Nickson | May 7, 2014 | Life in the Fast Lane: Magnets | Honorable Mention |
| Left Ventricular Assist Device | Salim Rezaie | May 29, 2014 | REBEL-EM: LVAD | AIR-Pro |
| LVAD Patients: What you need to know | Sumintra Wood | July 24, 2015 | EMDocs: LVAD | AIR-Pro |
Optional Background Reading
The following table contains links to basic/background knowledge that may be helpful to review prior to reading these more advanced-level blog posts. These are not part of the III quiz.
| Article Title | Author | Date | Link |
| Making Sense of Sgarbossa’s Criteria – Chest Pain and Left Bundle Branch Block – Part 1 | Tom Bouthillet | April 23, 2015 | ECG Medical Training, Sgarbossa Part 1 |
| Pacemaker Rhythms – Normal Patterns | John Larkin & Ed Burns | January 12, 2012 | Life in the Fast Lane: Normal Pacemakers |
Fareen Zaver, MD
Lead Editor/Co-Founder of ALiEM Approved Instructional Resources - Professional (AIR-Pro)
Champion, 2016-17 ALiEM Chief Resident Incubator
Board Member, 2016-17 ALiEM Wellness Think Tank
Deputy Head - Education and Clinical Assistant Professor for Emergency Medicine
University of Calgary Emergency Department
@fzaver
Latest posts by Fareen Zaver, MD (see all)
- How I Educate Series: Fareen Zaver, MD - August 10, 2022
- ED Management of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome: Breaking the Cycle - September 27, 2021
- Teaching in the age of COVID-19: The learning management system - March 19, 2020
