A cardiovascular pharmacist is a pharmacy professional who specialises in the delivery of care to patients with heart disease, heart failure, or other cardiovascular conditions. Anyone who works or is interested in this branch of pharmacy is welcome to join our cardiovascular pharmacy community.

For pharmacists who want to specialise in cardiovascular pharmacy, you’ll first need to become a qualified pharmacist. This typically involves a 5-year programme of continuous learning and workplace training. This begins with a 4-year Master of Pharmacy degree (known as MPharm). After completing the degree, learners will move on to a 1-year pharmacy foundation trainee pharmacist work placement in a healthcare setting. Some learners may choose a degree that integrates 12 months of training within a 5-year course.

Once training is complete, learners take an exam to register with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), making them an officially qualified pharmacist.

You can then begin to specialise in cardiac pharmacy, gaining on-the-job experience in clinical settings. 

You can join our cardiovascular pharmacy community while you’re a trainee or even a student pharmacist. UKCPA membership is free before you’re qualified, and you’ll have the opportunity to learn from experts in cardiovascular pharmacy while you complete your own training in the field.

The role of a pharmacist in cardiovascular disease care can be integral to patients’ heart health management. The various responsibilities of a cardiovascular pharmacist can include:

• Supporting other healthcare professionals with various aspects of cardiovascular care
• Dispensing heart health medication
• Dealing with patient enquiries regarding cardiovascular conditions
• Educating patients on the management of heart conditions, including signs of heart disease to look out for, and the importance of early screening
• Evaluating medication safety, with a specialist focus on thrombosis and hypertension risks
• Researching and developing new guidance relating to heart health pharmacy
• Training and mentoring junior pharmacists, including future cardiac pharmacy professionals

The UKCPA Critical Care Committee paved the way in pharmacist-led national guidelines, professional recognition for advanced practitioners, and the need for practitioner-led education and training in clinical pharmacy.

With strong links to the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and the Intensive Care Society, our Critical Care Committee are involved in advocating for the impact and value of critical care pharmacy to inform workforce standards in critical care wards. They also regularly develop and deliver UKCPA learning events in critical care subjects, and have provided significant, instant support and training to practitioners during the COVID pandemic.

You’ll start your career as a student pharmacist, before progressing to trainee pharmacist, and then qualifying as a registered pharmacist. Once you reach this stage, you can gain further experience in order to specialise as a cardiovascular pharmacist. 

Within cardiovascular pharmacy, you can explore multiple career paths, including working towards becoming a clinical lead or consultant in the field. Joining the UKCPA cardiovascular pharmacy community allows you to network with a wide variety of professionals in the field, showing you the breadth of opportunities available as you advance in your career. Continuing education and development is at the heart of our cardiovascular pharmacist community, so sign up today to find specialist support at every stage of your career.