Societies update clinical competencies for interventional cardiology
A joint statement outlines competency-based training requirements for interventional cardiology trainees across three subspecialties, offering a “roadmap” for program directors and trainees for required procedural and technical experience.
The statement, issued by the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, is the first document of its kind to define the training requirements for the full breadth of interventional cardiology for adults, including coronary interventions, peripheral vascular and structural heart interventions.
Image: Adobe Stock
“With this groundbreaking document, the writing committee provides a roadmap for both program directors and interventional cardiology trainees to help them progress through important training milestones,” Theodore A. Bass, MD, chair of the advanced training statement writing committee, said in a press release. “The document defines the required competencies for the full scope of interventional cardiology, providing trainees for the first time with the information to support training across all these areas.”
The training pathway for CV fellows to gain the necessary experience in interventional cardiology includes 3-year CVD fellowship; a 1-year accredited interventional cardiology fellowship initially focusing on coronary intervention with the opportunity to gain procedural experience in various aspects of peripheral vascular and structural heart interventions; and an option for additional post-fellowship training based on the trainee’s career goals.
“Since the first percutaneous coronary balloon angioplasty was performed in 1977, the evolution of endovascular technologies and procedures has allowed interventional cardiologists to treat an expanding population of patients with cardiovascular disease,” the researchers wrote. “This population now includes patients presenting with more complex CAD, advanced age, HF, peripheral vascular disease and valvular disease, as well as other forms of structural heart disease. Expanding cognitive and procedural competencies are required for practitioners to safely and effectively treat this increasingly diverse and complex patient population.”
Researchers also noted that focus on CV health equity, which includes a better understanding of social determinants of health, is integral to training a competent interventional cardiologist.
“Reevaluation of the current interventional cardiology training curriculum is necessary to adequately address the changing clinical challenges that present in practice,” the researchers wrote.
Level III training, the primary focus of the document, requires additional training and experience beyond the CV fellowship for the acquisition of specialized knowledge and experience. The writing committee recommends a minimum of 250 interventional cardiology procedures to support the attainment of competencies, with 50 of such procedures specializing in coronary, peripheral vascular and structural heart interventions. Adjunctive procedures related to physiologic assessment and intracoronary imaging are also required.
Trainees must also acquire experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide a holistic approach to patient care.
The statement was simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions and the Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.
The statement was developed in collaboration with and endorsed by the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the American Society of Echocardiography, the Heart Failure Society of America, the Heart Rhythm Society, the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the Society for Vascular Medicine.
References:
- Bass TA, et al. Circ Cardiovasc Interv. 2023;doi:10.1161/10.1161/HCV.0000000000000088.
- Bass TA, et al. J Soc Cardiovasc Angiography Interv. 2023;doi:10.1016/10.1016/j.jscai.2022.100575.
Collapse