[Using Web 2.0 technologies and social media for the cardiologist's education and update]

The features and tools of Web 2.0 are increasingly introduced and used in the medical field. RSS feeds, podcasts, blogs, online social networks, and social media are proposed as innovative tools for the education and update of clinicians, physicians, nurses, and medical students because of their easy and widespread use. Cardiology area is one of the medical fields where they have been successfully applied. Medical journals such as Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and scientific societies such as the American College of Cardiology and the European Society of Cardiology are using these new and powerful communication tools. In addition, blogs and social networks have been developed to allow physicians to distribute, share, and comment medical contents (images, videos, slides, scientific abstracts, clinical trials updates) concerning issues related to cardiology and cardiovascular diseases. This review provides some background on the evolution of Web 2.0 and social media and describes the most interesting applications of Web 2.0 (and its features) both in the medical and cardiology fields.