Abstract 15618: Contemporary and Emerging Training Pathways for Acute Care Cardiology: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction: Several studies have described trends toward increasing complexity and illness-severity of patients admitted to the cardiac intensive care units (CICU). This has necessitated the development of training pathways in critical care cardiology (CCC). Hybrid training in combinations of interventional cardiology (IC), advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology (AHFTC), and CCC have also gained interest. This review sought to outline current and proposed pathways for hybrid training in acute cardiovascular care. Methods: We performed a systematic review of articles describing training pathways for dual certification in CCC, as well as hybrid models for training in a combination of IC, CCC, and AHFTC. PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL were searched from 01/01/2000 to 04/28/2022. Pathways through pediatric and adult non-internal medicine specialties were excluded. Results: Of 2,236 citations, 18 studies were included in the final analysis. Most pathways included sequential CCC training, i.e. traditional cardiovascular fellowship and 1-2 additional years of critical care medicine, although integrated 4-year programs were noted to be emerging. Hybrid models for advanced training in two or more complementary subspecialties, including CCM, AHFTC, and IC, have been described, each with their own strengths and limitations. Additional expertise in advanced therapies such as mechanical circulatory support, the longitudinal AHFTC practice, and the combination of procedural and intensivist skills for management of diseases such as acute coronary syndromes were the stated benefits of these combined models. Alternatively, some advocate for incorporating focused CC training into a single year of IC or AHFTC fellowship. However, this may limit the time required to gain expertise in all areas of advanced training and is insufficient for board certification in CCM. Conclusion: Despite the growing need, there are limited dedicated pathways to train the contemporary acute care cardiologists. Further study is needed to consolidate training to encourage the growth and development of this field.