Invasive Cardiology Curriculum
The cardiac catheterization laboratory rotation provides modern, evidence based, didactic and practical teaching in invasive cardiology. The aim is to impart the rationale for when and why invasive investigations are required, as well as when they are not or when the risks outweigh the benefits.
We have an invasive cardiology conference once a week on Monday morning when either didactic talks are given by faculty and fellows or we undertake review of interesting cases in the previous week as a basis for discussion.
All fellows get hands on didactic training in cardiac catheterization with an aim that the majority, by the end of their fellowship, should be able to perform a study without the attending scrubbed. The ECU practice is a high volume interventional practice, which in addition to general cardiology fellows also trains 2 interventional fellows/year.
We place significant emphasis on using coronary physiology to objectively assess the physiological significance of coronary disease, as while angiography is the gold standard, it is highly imperfect. We liberally use intra coronary imaging to guide intervention. Most importantly, we teach the central importance of a good clinical assessment to determine whether an invasive approach is warranted and if so, how the ‘bedside’ clinical assessment is crucial to success in cardiac catheterization laboratory.
The aim of the rotation is to aim impart the knowledge and skills required for modern cardiology practice in an enjoyable, friendly, environment.
| Year | Cardiac Catheterization | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | CC 1 | ||
| 2nd | CC 2 | ||
| CC 3 | |||
| 3rd | CC 4 | ||
| CC 5E | |||
| CC 6E | |||
| COCATS Level 1 (Mandatory Curriculum) | Level 1 = CC 1 + CC 2 + CC 3 + CC 4 | ||
| COCATS Level 2 | Level 2 = CC 1 + CC 2 + CC 3 + CC 4 + CC 5E + CC 6E | ||
| Legend | Level | COCATS 4 Training Requirement | Duration of Training (Months) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEE | Transesophageal Echocardiography | 1 | Echocardiography | 3 |
| CC | Cardiac Catheterization | 2 | Echocardiography | 6 |
| CIU | Cardiac Intermediate-Care Service | 3 | Echocardiography | 9 |
| CICU | Critical Care Cardiology | 1 | NC | 2 |
| VT/MRI | Cardiovascular Computed Tomographic Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Imaging | 2 | NC | 4 |
| Consult | Consultation Services | 1 | CT/MRI | 1 |
| EP | Electrophysiology | 1 | VM | 2 |
| TTE | Transthoracic Echocardiography | 1 | CC | 4 |
| R | Cardiovascular Research | 2 | CC | 6 |
| E | Elective | 1 | EP | 2 |
| NC | Nuclear Cardiology | 2 | EP | 6 |
| HF | Heart Failure | 1 | HF | 2 |
| VM | Vascular Medicine | 1 | SHD/CHD | 1 |
| SHD/CHD | Structural Heart Disease / Adult Patients With Congenital Heart Disease | |||
| Fellows at our institution will have the follow mandatory months for CIU/CICU/Consult | CICU | |||
| Consult | ||||
| CIU | ||||
COCATS 4 Task Force 10: Training in Invasive Cardiology (PDF)