The aim:
The aim is to have a very well trained group of cardiologists in the Acute Cardiac Care that will offer state of the art treatment for patients with severe cardiac illnesses.
It is expected that this initiative will provide a more consistent treatment of critically ill cardiac patients all over Europe, reducing inequalities among countries and improving overall outcomes.
The system is designed to certify both practical expertise (see log book requirements) and knowledge. Nevertheless, the written examination may be taken before the practical requirements are completely fulfilled. In such case, an official letter will be issued stating the exam approval.
The objectives of this accreditation are to recognize the following concerns:
Patients admitted to Coronary Care Units (CCU) are increasingly older, have more severe cardiac conditions and associated comorbidities. To deliver state of the art therapies requires knowledge of several techniques such as invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, management of acute renal failure (hemofiltration…), infections and treatment of septic shock, among others.
There is an ever growing use of invasive treatments such as cardiac resynchronisation, AID, ventricular assistance devices, etc. Some of them can only be used in the intensive unit environment, but complications from other devices will need to be dealt with in CCUs.
Primary angioplasty has changed the way myocardial infarction patients are treated; a vast majority currently requires a very short stay in a CCU.
Cardiologists working in CCUs must adapt their knowledge and abilities to these new therapeutic demands to treat patients adequately. What's more, cardiologists must be the treating physicians because the admitting condition is a cardiac problem; nevertheless, in Europe there are other specialists in charge of these patients.
To guide all European National Cardiac Societies in the need to educate cardiologists working in European CCU with a common optimal standard to be able to deliver homogenous state of the art treatments to patients admitted to CCUs in Europe.
What you will find in this section: