Developing a global cardiovascular surgery training resource: The DeBakey cardiovascular education model

The DeBakey Cardiovascular (CV) Education YouTube channel was established to provide free, high-quality CV education to a global audience of health care professionals and trainees. As digital learning increasingly supplements traditional surgical training, video-based platforms offer scalable, accessible solutions to overcome geographic, financial, and learning disparities in medical education.

We conducted a descriptive evaluation of the DeBakey CV Education channel from October 2015 to July 2025 using YouTube analytics platform metrics and playlist-level data across six representative content series. Production workflows from intraoperative video capture to multimedia editing and publication are described in detail. Faculty perspectives, gathered through semistructured interviews, provided contextual support for the quantitative findings.

Over 10 years, the channel has accumulated 23 million views, 85 million watch minutes, and 132,000+ subscribers across more than 3000 videos. Selected playlists demonstrated high engagement, with average view durations exceeding 4.7 minutes and viewer retention rates above 55%. The channel achieved viewership in over 175 countries, with the United States and India consistently leading in total views. After 2021, India's annual viewership markedly increased, surpassing the United States for that year and maintaining a consistent second place position for the remainder of the analysis period. Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines also demonstrated steady international engagement. Faculty members were also interviewed to provide additional perspectives on the educational value and impact of the platform.

The DeBakey CV Education channel exemplifies a scalable, sustainable model for open-access education. Through content creation, editorial review, and public dissemination, the platform supports mentorship and equitable learning across geographically and economically diverse settings. Future directions include interactive content formats and prospective validation of learning outcomes.