Nuclear Cardiology Curriculum
Nuclear Cardiology provides important diagnostic and prognostic information that is an essential part of the knowledge base required of the well-trained cardiologist for optimal management of the cardiovascular patient. We have 6 gamma camera at ECU Health Hospital and 2 gamma camera in the outpatient setting at East Carolina Cardiovascular Imaging Center. We perform over 1200 exercise SPECT, over 800 pharmacological SPECT, over 200 rest RNA (MUGA), and over 50 rest Thallium-201 for myocardial viability per year.Several well trained and experienced cardiology faculty are on our staff. Each day one of the faculty is assigned to review and discuss the indication and alternative imaging modalities if needed; and then to interpret the nuclear cardiac studies with the fellow/fellows assigned to nuclear cardiology rotation. The correlation of nuclear studies with other modalities done at the same session.
Furthermore, bi-weekly nuclear catheterization correlation conference is a very good place for the fellows and faculty to exchange ideas and learn. Most of our cardiology fellows have achieved Level II training during their standard 3-year cardiovascular fellowship that provides trainees with expertise to practice clinical nuclear cardiology as a subspecialty by providing supervision and interpretation of the following: myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), cardiac function assessment with gated SPECT; and gated equilibrium radionuclide angiography.
| Year | Nuclear Cardiology | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | NC 1 | |
| NC 2 | ||
| 2nd | NC 3 | |
| NC 4 | ||
| 3rd | ||
| COCATS Level 1 (Mandatory Curriculum) | Level 1 = NC 1 + NC 2 | |
| COCATS Level 2 | Level 2 = NC 1 + NC2 + NC3 + NC4 | |
| 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 6: Training in Nuclear Cardiology (PDF)