Young Cardiologist Research Articles

Living with our dead

As a young cardiologist, Dr. Guillaume Bonnet was confronted with the end of life during a significant death that occurred during a shift in cardiological intensive care. Through his testimony, we can see the importance of freeing up speech, as well as ways of thinking about preparing physicians for such situations, particularly by highlighting the role of simulation.

The Launch of JUCMD

I have been asked by my editorial team to write a small note for the first issue of this journal entitled, JUCMD (Journal of University College of Medicine and Dentistry). Reflecting on what makes a good journal great reminds of the sayings of Dr Bartosz Hudzik, a young cardiologist at a medical university in Poland. First and foremost, there is the team of dedicated and highly qualified editors who provide valuable guidance on the journal contents. In addition, there are manuscript authors, equally important as the editors, as they are the ones conducting research, writing and rewriting drafts, and submitting the manuscript in hopes that it will be published. Then, there are the reviewers, who advise the editors on the importance and novelty of the findings and the soundness of the research methodology. Finally, there are the readers, who look to the journal for accurate and up-to-date scientific and clinical information. We have this exact recipe right at the start of our journal in the form of a very active and energetic editorial board and a competent pool of reviewers.
 
 

P328Satisfaction towards clinical training and academic activities among residents and early-career cardiologists

Abstract Background Because of the progress in diagnostic and therapeutic cardiovascular disease, the skills to be acquired during fellowship training has increased significantly. In particular, the evolution in arrhythmology and electrophysiology was fast in the last years. This could have created a gap between the training program during the fellowship and the new technologies, growing demand for re-defined educational requirements to ensure uniformity of knowledge and competence of those practicing in electrophysiology. Purpose The AIAC (Italian Association of Arrhythmology and Cardiostimulation) Young Pacing committee conducted a survey to obtain information the satisfaction on the educational and training obtained during the residency course by residents and young cardiologists (arbitrarily defined as age ≤ 40 years). Methods The survey was conducted from January to May 2019. Residents and young cardiologists were contacted to complete the survey by e-mail. They were asked to answer a questionnaire containing information about scholarly activity included satisfaction of educational and clinical proficiency in arrhythmology and electrophysiology and educational in electrophysiology after the residency. Results We obtained 334 answers to the survey. One hundred forty-six individuals (43.7%) were residents and 188 (56.2%) were young cardiologist. In Electrophysiology Department, 3-6 months were dedicated to Clinical Arrhythmology for 135 partecipants (40.4%), 1-2 months to cardiac pacing for 132 partecipants (39.5%) and 1-2 months to EP Lab for 139 partecipants (41.6%). Three hundred twenty-nine people responded to questions about satisfaction in educational. In terms of educational in Clinical Arrhythmology, 100 responders (30.4%) were "very satisfied", 105 (31.9%) were "satisfied" and 124 (37.7%) were "dissatisfied". About Cardiac Pacing, 84 responders (25.5%) were "very satisfied", 93 (28.3%) were "satisfied" and 152 (46.2%) were "dissatisfied". Only 51 (15.5%) participants were "very satisfied" with their training in Electrophysiology, whereas 81 (24.6%) were "satisfied" and 197 (59.9%) were "dissatisfied". About self-assessed clinical proficiency in Arrhythmology at the end of fellowship, 30 responders (9%) defined themselves as completely confident in Clinical Arrhythmology, 126 (37.7%) in Ambulatory Electrophysiology (ECG Holter and device check), 28 (8.4%) in cardiac pacing, 10 (3%) in performing electrophysiological study and nobody in catheter ablation. One hundred twenty-one (36.8%) participants improved their competence in Cardiac Arrhythmia Management attending courses after fellowship. Conclusion The survey underlines the need to fill a gap in order to address the needs of young interventional cardiologists and it may serve as a starting point for developing tailored educational initiatives.

What influences echocardiography reliability in estimation of pulmonary pressure?

If echocardiography provides reliable estimations of pulmonary pressures remain controversial. The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy of estimating right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) and the factor influencing this accuracy using echocardiography in patients with history of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) or pulmonary arterial hypertension. Between January 2014 and December 2015, 118 patients with suspected pulmonary hypertension (PH), underwent right heart catheterization (RHC) and transthoracic echocardiography within 5 days in our referral center. The correlation in estimating RVSP according to tricuspid regurgitation (TR) signal quality and reader expertise were retrospectively determined. TR signal quality using continuous-wave Doppler were classified subjectively in three groups: good (type 1), moderate (type 2) and poor (type 3). We compared measurements from the echocardiography laboratory clinical report assessed by level 3–trained cardiologists certified in echocardiography, with offline reassessment by a level 1–young cardiologist blinded to RHC values. In total, 86 patients (72%) had a good or moderate TR signal quality. The comparison between clinical reports and young cardiologist reassessment gave a linear regression line having the equation y = −0, 1549 + 1, 0286 x. Correlation coefficient between RVSP estimation from RHC and echocardiography were respectively 0,69 (P < 0,001) from the clinical report and 0,62 (P < 0,001) from level 1 reader. When TR signal quality was good and moderate, correlation coefficient was respectively 0,75 (P < 0,001) from the clinical report and 0,72 (P < 0,001) from the level 1 reader. In 50 patients with type 1 TR quality signal, the correlation coefficient were respectively 0,83 (P < 0,001) and 0,78 (P < 001). Echocardiography reliably estimates RVSP when attention is given to quality metrics and the level of the reader.

Young Cardiologist Researchers in Kemerovo.

Young Cardiologist Researchers in Kemerovo.

Young Dads and Old Men.

Young Dads and Old Men.

The British Junior Cardiologists' Association.

An old bunch of young cardiologists dating back to 1948! The British Junior Cardiologists' Association (BJCA) represents over 1000 aspiring cardiologists and cardiologists in training in the UK. We believe the BJCA can make claim to be the oldest young cardiologists' group in Europe, emerging from a group known as the ‘Junior Cardiac Club’ founded in 1948. The first chair was the distinguished cardiologist Dr Walter Somerville who started the society when he was a cardiologist in training at the Hammersmith Hospital in London working alongside Paul Wood performing some of the first cardiac catheterization procedures in the UK at the time.1 ![Graphic][1] ![Graphic][2] Dr Somerville went on to become President of the British Cardiac Society and Editor of the journal Heart. In 2000 the Junior Cardiac Club merged with other British regional young cardiologist' groups to become the BJCA and in 2007 was one of the founding members of the now thriving and ever expanding ESC Cardiologists' of Tomorrow community. As does the ESC CoT, the BJCA has a tradition of supporting young cardiologists become the leaders in cardiovascular medicine of tomorrow with many of its alumni shaping the future of cardiology. With the support of the British Cardiovascular Society and its affiliated groups, the BJCA works closely to represent the interests of cardiologists' in training with representation on committees which oversee cardiology training and it closely interacts with trainee groups from other medical specialties. With the proliferation of doctor in training groups across the UK … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif [2]: /embed/inline-graphic-2.gif

Eva E. Swahn MD PhD.

Judy Ozkan speaks with the second ever woman to be Vice President of the European Society of Cardiology ![Graphic][1] Eva Swahn is professor of cardiology and senior consultant in cardiology at the university hospital in Linkoping, Sweden. She has been involved in research into acute coronary syndromes (ACS), for over three decades and is known for her work on landmark trials FRISCI and FRISCII. She was the first researcher in Sweden to investigate gender differences in ACS and the second woman to serve on the board of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) as Vice President. Swahn was first encouraged to study medicine at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute by her sister who was already a student there. Although the subject didn’t immediately fire Swahn’s imagination, she became curious about cardiology during training in internal medicine to obtain her speciality. Keen to find out more and looking for challenges, she moved to Linkoping in 1980 from a small, local hospital. She found the big teaching hospital environment at Linkoping much more stimulating for a curious young cardiologist. At Linkoping there was much discussion about clinical practice and the way things were done, and crucially, there was the opportunity to get involved in high-quality … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif

Advocate for our patients, advocate for our profession.

Advocate for our patients, advocate for our profession.

Predictive Models in Heart Failure

Despite a rich and growing history of predictive modeling in medicine, few such models have been successfully incorporated into routine practice and decision support at the point of care. In 1981, a young cardiologist predicted that point-of-care predictive models would be in widespread use in the near future.1 But more than 30 years later, even with the advent of electronic health records, clinicians continue to struggle through rounds and clinic with little practical decision support—a situation that contrasts sharply with the worlds of business, finance, and politics, where prediction models are routinely used for this purpose. Article see p 881 This relative lack of applied prediction modeling in medicine is due in part to the insufficient adoption of available, thoroughly validated models (eg, the Framingham risk algorithms in primary prevention).2 A more significant contributor, however, is the preponderance of insufficiently validated prediction models, as can be seen clearly in the arena of heart failure. A new systematic review of predictive models for patients with heart failure by Alba et al3 in this issue of Circulation: Heart Failure provides important insights into deficiencies that have hindered uptake and use of these models by the clinical community. One key problem derives from the fact that the models with the greatest levels of validation are derived from clinical trials or populations with limited generalizability and, therefore, represent only a sliver of the population of patients with heart failure seen in practice. These models are certainly useful for understanding risks attributable to the measured factors for critical outcomes in heart failure, as well as for adjusting for differences in subgroup analyses within trial populations, but the degree …

Karl Sussman, MD

Karl Sussman, MD, a former President of the American Diabetes Association, passed away on 28 October 2005, while traveling through small colonial towns of Central Mexico. Karl was born in Baltimore on 29 May 1929 to the family of a young cardiologist. Later, when elder Dr. Sussman joined the military, the family moved frequently, and Karl attended high schools in Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Panama (the Canal Zone). Following his early interest in pre-Columbian art and culture, Karl spent two summers as an exchange student in Morelia, Mexico. In 1947 he enrolled into Johns Hopkins University, aiming at a future career as a Foreign Service …

Karl Sussman, MD

Karl Sussman, MD, a former President of the American Diabetes Association, passed away on 28 October 2005, while traveling through small colonial towns of Central Mexico. Karl was born in Baltimore on 29 May 1929 to the family of a young cardiologist. Later, when elder Dr. Sussman joined the military, the family moved frequently, and Karl attended high schools in Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Panama (the Canal Zone). Following his early interest in pre-Columbian art and culture, Karl spent two summers as an exchange student in Morelia, Mexico. In 1947 he enrolled into Johns Hopkins University, aiming at a future career as a Foreign Service …

Robert Arthur Bruce, MD

Robert Arthur Bruce, the “father of exercise cardiology,” died in Seattle on February 12, 2004, at the age of 87 years. Born in Somerville, Mass, he received his Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College and graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in 1943. He completed his internship and medical residency at the University of Rochester Strong Memorial Hospital. After service as Chief Resident in Medicine, he joined the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Rochester in 1946. In 1950, Dr Robert H. Williams, the founding Chief of Medicine at the new University of Washington School of Medicine, selected Dr Bruce to be the first Chief of Cardiology. He directed the division until 1971 and codirected with Dr Harold T. Dodge for an additional 10 years. He became Professor Emeritus in 1987 but continued to be actively interested in the division for the remainder of his life. As a young cardiologist at the University of Rochester, Dr Bruce recognized that exercise stress testing could play an important role in the evaluation of cardiac patients. The cumbersome Master’s Two-Step test, in common use at that time, was clearly inadequate to assess respiratory and circulatory function during varying degrees of sustained exertion. He and his early coworker, Dr Paul Yu, who had recently arrived from …

Mentors for the new millennium : advice to a young cardiologist

“Congratulations! Today is your day, You’re off to great places, You’re off and away … You have brains in your head, You have feet in your shoes, You can steer yourself, Any direction you choose …” —Dr. Seuss1 Along time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was a solitary young cardiologist standing at the crossroads of his medical career. As a starry-eyed college undergraduate, he had dreamed of combining the life of a scientist with the practice of medicine. This academic calling would intertwine the intellectual fruits of curiosity-driven science and the emotional satisfaction of making a lasting difference in the lives of patients. Although he had a gift for science in his coursework and was fascinated by new medical discoveries and therapies for heart diseases, he had little practical laboratory experience. The nagging questions of self-doubt, the difficulties of obtaining grants from the National Institutes of Health, and the war stories of younger faculty seemed to point to the default pathway of clinical cardiology in the nonacademic setting. However, the road to private practice was also littered with casualties, thus creating the current dilemma of choosing a career path. Unfortunately, the dark side of managed care had changed the balance in academic medicine, and there were too few academic role models to allow for an informed decision. Although he had “brains in his head” and “feet in his shoes,” he did not know which “direction” to choose. In short, he needed a mentor. Perhaps it is time for young cardiologists to look outside of cardiology for mentors in the next millennium. Toward this goal, this current perspective garners the collective wisdom of several important men who acted as mentors: Lewis Thomas, Abraham Lincoln, and Yogi Berra. “Halfway technology represents the kinds of things that must be …