COPD, Diabetes, Heart Failure, and Hypertension 2026

COPD, Diabetes, Heart Failure, and Hypertension is organized by Summit Professional Education and will be held on Oct 16, 2026 at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States of America.

Description:
Physical and occupational therapists often treat older patients with multiple chronic illnesses. In fact, 80% of adults over the age of 65 have multiple chronic conditions. This can be a difficult patient population to work with considering these patients see an average of 13 different physicians each year and have an average of 50 different prescriptions filled each year. Due to the complexity of this patient population, obtaining progressions through a therapy program can be a very daunting task. Therapists often feel they are providing suboptimal therapeutic interventions due to the complexity of working with these patient populations. Additionally, caring for these patients is further complicated by the potential adverse effects of being on multiple medications. It can be very challenging to help guide these patients to achieve their greatest level of independence and to improve their quality of life.

During this one-day course, participants will be able to obtain comprehensive information on the pathophysiology of some frequently encountered chronic diseases and how they may affect a patient's ability to respond to therapy treatment. This course will evaluate the best techniques, including special tests to perform with these populations that will help guide therapy treatment. Also covered will be the most common medications that these groups of patients might be taking, medications that should be avoided in this population, and how to recognize possible adverse effects of these medications. Participants will discuss vital sign parameters and treatment precautions and how to use this information to guide your clinical decision making and when it is appropriate to continue therapy treatment or when therapy treatment should be held. Participants will also review the most common lab tests performed in the older adult population, how to interpret these lab values, and how the results of these tests can affect your patient's ability to progress during therapy treatments. After the completion of this course, participants will confidently use the best treatment strategies for populations with these chronic diagnoses.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the causes, symptoms and pathophysiology of heart failure, COPD, diabetes, and hypertension.
• Distinguish common medications to treat these conditions and their possible effects on therapy treatment, as well as medications that should be avoided with this patient population.
• Interpret vital sign parameters, precautions, and contraindications that can be used to guide clinical decision making when working with these patient populations.
• Utilize evidence-based treatment interventions designed to optimize functional outcomes, increase independence in ADLs, and improve quality of life.
• Analyze the possible effects abnormal lab values may have on therapeutic interventions for patients with COPD, diabetes, and hypertension.
• Integrate motivational methods to improve patient self- management to therapeutic interventions.

Highlights:

• Expand your understanding of the causes, symptoms, and pathophysiology of heart failure, COPD, DM, and hypertension and increase your confidence working with patients with one or more of these conditions
• Pharmacological considerations and how to recognize possible adverse side effects and interactions that could be impacting your patient's ability to maximize functional independence
• Create practical, effective evidence-based interventions for at-risk populations and how to safely progress these patients through a progressive therapy program designed to improve functional outcomes
• Safely progress patients with chronic illnesses using the best plan of care in order to manage and motivate your patients to achieve their maximum level of fitness
• Acquire specific information regarding lab values including normal ranges and how to recognize the effects an abnormal lab value may have on therapeutic interventions, and Hypertension

Outline:

1. Properly Managing Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions
   1. Prevalence
   2. Complexity of this patient population
   3. Polypharmacy
   4. Common lab values you should know
2. Assessment and Treatment of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
   1. Pathophysiology
   2. Patient evaluation
   3. Common medications used to treat CHF
   4. Evidence-based therapeutic interventions to promote function and ADL performance.
3. Assessment and Treatment of Chronic Obstructive and Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
   1. Pathophysiology
   2. Patient evaluation
   3. Common medications used to treat COPD
   4. Evidence-based therapeutic interventions to promote function and ADL performance.
4. Assessment and Treatment of Diabetes (DM)
   1. Pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes
   2. Patient evaluation
   3. Common medications used to treat diabetes
   4. Evidence-based therapeutic interventions to promote function and ADL performance.
5. Assessment and Treatment of Hypertension or High Blood Pressure (HBP)
   1. Pathophysiology, prevalence of hypertension
   2. Common medications used to treat hypertension
   3. Lifestyle and self-management strategies to help control hypertension, benefits of physical activity
   4. Correct technique for measuring vital signs including blood pressure
   5. Precautions, contraindications, and exercise guidelines for treating patients with hypertension
6. Case Studies