Future Training Pathways in Percutaneous Coronary Interventions: Interventional Critical Care, Complex Coronary Interventions, and Interventional Heart Failure
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Published on: May 6, 2020
Saraschandra Vallabhajosyula1,2, Mirvat Alasnag3, Konstantinos Dean Boudoulas4
1Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Insights
Interventional cardiology faces evolving challenges in coronary disease treatment. This paper proposes new training models to help specialists adapt and maintain expertise in complex patient care.
Area of Science:
- Interventional Cardiology
- Cardiovascular Disease Training
Background:
- Coronary artery disease remains a primary focus for interventional cardiology.
- Rapid advancements in technology, mechanical circulatory support, and device innovation are transforming patient care.
- Interventional cardiologists face challenges like decreasing procedure volumes and increasing patient complexity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose novel training paradigms for interventional cardiologists.
- To address the need for developing expertise in new practice domains.
- To support the maintenance of clinical skills and productivity.
Main Methods:
- Development of three distinct training paradigms.
- Focus on tertiary/quaternary center coronary interventional cardiologists.
- Integration of clinical and scholastic pursuits.
Main Results:
- Proposed paradigms aim to create unique clinical/scholastic niches.
- Strategies to maintain skills and productivity in a changing landscape.
- Models for managing complex patients in regional healthcare settings.
Conclusions:
- Adaptable training is crucial for modern interventional cardiologists.
- New paradigms can foster specialized expertise and improve patient care.
- Addressing evolving challenges ensures continued relevance and effectiveness in the field.
Abstract:
While there has been a proliferation of training and practice paradigms in the realm of noncoronary interventions, coronary disease remains the predominant pathology necessitating interventional cardiology expertise. The landscape of coronary disease has also experienced a significant transformation due to rapidly evolving technologies, clinical application of mechanical circulatory support and other device innovations, and increasing acuity and complexity of patients. The modern interventional cardiologist is subject to challenges including decreasing coronary procedural volume, need to maintain clinical and financial productivity, and often also requirements of continued scholastic pursuit. Therefore, in the coming decade, there will be greater impetus to develop expertise in multiple new domains of practice. In this document, we propose 3 training paradigms that may assist the tertiary/quaternary center coronary interventional cardiologist to develop a unique clinical/scholastic niche, maintain clinical skills and productivity, and develop care models for complex patients within local and regional tertiary/quaternary hospitals.
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