The House of Cardiology

Abstract

The collection of professional organizations that represent practitioners of cardiovascular medicine is often referred to as the House of Cardiology. This term is aptly used to reference a collective physical structure (a supported shelter), but also to include the extended family within. This family of cardiology is undoubtedly getting larger, becoming more diverse, and has over time become multigenerational. As such, the richness and complexity of the House has become more challenging to manage – and squabbles do occur, but in general the members of the House remain a tight knit family that grow, adapt, and defend together. The role of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) within this House is one of maturity, where we routinely engage in supportive yet strategic conversations with other members. For example, we routinely collaborate with the American College of Cardiology (ACC) on educational activities (e.g., jointly issued practice guidelines); advocacy efforts for payment and policy reform; and even strategic planning to better predict future challenges. ASE also has a long history of very intentional and collegial collaboration with other major cardiovascular (CV) imaging societies including the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR), the Society for Cardiac Computed Tomography (SCCT), and the American Society for Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) (Figure 1). Perhaps our closest House relationships are with the certification organizations including the National Board of Echocardiography (NBE), the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS), Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI), Committee on Accreditation for Advanced Cardiovascular Sonography (CoA-ACS), and the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission Echocardiography (IAC-Echo) to name just a few. NBE, IAC-Echo (aka ICAEL) and the COA-ACS were formed with ASE’s early assistance. All these relationships remain very important to the mission and strategic goals of ASE. In addition, the ASE has recently begun very encouraging conversations with other members within our House. As the ASE membership has expanded over recent years, and as the breadth of the echo field continues to swell, we find ourselves now with educational and policy goals that may overlap with several other CV societies. With the rapid development of the subspecialty of Interventional Echocardiography (IE), we have had several discussions with the leadership of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) to explore important new collaborations regarding advocacy for payment reform and member education priorities. The development of novel pharmacotherapies to treat cardiomyopathy has re-energized our role in diagnosis and management of the heart failure patient. As such, we have had very productive conversations with leadership of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA), and we are actively exploring how to create joint educational programs of significant value to both our members, and our Industry Roundtable (IRT) partners. Likewise, we have engaged in very encouraging discussion with the leadership of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) to explore several novel collaborations including joint writing groups for important new practice recommendations. As in most large families, the members of this House do not always agree about every issue. The household rules, the chores, and most importantly, the budget, must be reviewed from time to time. But there are also topics of near universal agreement. Patient access to care; quality of care; education of CV professionals; and focused advocacy for our members are always approached with passion and shared mission within this House. Today the House looks different than it did in the past; and in the future it will look different than it does today. But the House of Cardiology will continue to stand, and the member organizations within will grow and thrive together.Stephen H. Little, MD, FASE, is the Cardiology Fellowship Program Director at Houston Methodist Hospital, System Director for Structural Heart, and Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University. He has been an ASE member since 2003. This text also appears in the May Echo magazine.