Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States, and many other countries. Our heart works throughout our entire lives, so even small issues can have profound effects on our health. In this discussion board you will learn a little about biomedical ethics, and discuss some current events.

Directions

1. Read through each of these articles/pages in the order listed below:
1. “The Belmont Report” (Links to an external site.). This is the most important document for biomedical reserachers. It lays the groundwork for ethical treatment of research participants, and applies to patient interaction as well.
2. “National Trends in Heart Donor Usage Rates: Are We Efficiently Transplanting More Hearts?” (Links to an external site.) Read the Introduction, Results, and Discussion sections.
3. “Get this Thing out of My Chest” (Links to an external site.)
2. Write up an initial post in your own words. This should be in paragraph form. Make sure to at least cover the following in your writing. This should be at least 250 words.
1. What are some key points from the reading? Provide a brief summary. What did you learn? What did you find interesting?
2. What does an LVAD do? How does it compensate for anatomical and physiological issues of the heart?
3. Regarding the “Get this Things out of My Chest” article in particular…
1. What principles from the Belmont report apply here? How are they relevant?
2. Who has responsibility here? Patients? Doctors? the Manufacturer? The Federal Government? Why do you think that? Justify your response with quotes from this article and the others if applicable.
3. What do you think is the best way to “resolve” this problem. Make sure to take into account risks-benefits (Links to an external site.) of your solution.
3. Make this initial post by the end of Friday, 5/13 at 11:59pm
4. By the end of Sunday, 5/15, write a reply to two peers. Consider the following in your reply. You can absolutely write beyond the topics below. This should be at least 75 words each.
1. What did you find interesting about their response?
2. Do you agree/disagree with their ideas/statements. Please support your claims with quotes from the readings. Please make sure to be respectful of your classmates and follow Netiquette guidelines (Links to an external site.).
3. What alternatives can you propose to what they have written? Please make sure to be respectful of your classmates and follow Netiquette guidelines (Links to an external site.).
4. Is there anything interesting or related that you can add to your reply?