The management of patients with vascular disease is complex and requires a multi-disciplinary approach of which nurses play an integral part. Recent years have witnessed the development of vascular nursing in the UK as a specialist area, with appointments of vascular nurse specialists and nurse consultants.

Specialist vascular courses are now available for nurses in the UK and vascular nurses have their own professional society.

This book aims to provide nurses with the appropriate knowledge to meet the challenge of caring for patients with vascular disease. It is designed to be an easy to use guide and not as an exhaustive textbook. Additional sources will need to be accessed to provide any further required information.

The book is separated into parts in accordance to patients potential journey from outpatient department or emergency admission, through to investigations, nursing care on the ward, surgical and radiological intervention, intensive care unit (ICU) or high-dependency unit (HDU), rehabilitation to discharge back into the community.

This approach has been chosen to show the complex inter-twinning of departments and staff involved in caring for this patient group. Each chapter will also address the role of the nurse in a specific area of care.