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The New ESC Core Curriculum for the Cardiologist

Includes a special chapter on preventive cardiology

Education and training is an essential pillar of preventive cardiology. The new 2020 ESC Core Curriculum for the Cardiologist1 includes a special chapter on preventive cardiology.

Preventive Cardiology
Rehabilitation and Sports Cardiology


As a novelty, the concept of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) has been introduced. EPAs are clinically meaningful units of competencies, comprising knowledge, skills, attitudes, and professional roles. They should facilitate the holistic assessment of the trainee by the trainer in the clinical setting.

The chapter on prevention, rehabilitation, and sports comprises of seven EPAs that are relevant for general cardiology training in preventive cardiology:

  1. Manage cardiovascular aspects in an athlete
  2. Manage a patient with arterial hypertension
  3. Manage a patient with dyslipidaemia
  4. Manage cardiovascular aspects in a diabetic patient
  5. Manage an individual in primary prevention
  6. Manage a cardiac patient in secondary prevention
  7. Prescribe a prevention and rehabilitation programme for a cardiovascular patient.

The new 2020 ESC Guidelines on Sports Cardiology and Exercise in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease2 are an important source of knowledge for these EPAs.

The structure of the ESC Core Curriculum for the Cardiologist forms the basis for the EAPC Core Curriculum on Preventive Cardiology that is currently being developed and which will describe the additional clinical competencies relevant for sub-speciality qualification in preventive cardiology.

The 2020 ESC Core Curriculum for the Cardiologist is an update of the 2013 edition, and the product of the 2018–2020 ESC Education Committee, chaired by Prof. Paulus Kirchhof. The task force was led by Prof. Felix Tanner. The document was co-developed in cooperation with Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes (European Union for Medical Specialists, UEMS), national cardiac societies, the ESC associations, trainees, and patients.

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References

1. Tanner FC, Brooks N, Fox KF, et al. ESC Core Curriculum for the Cardiologist. Eur Heart J 2020

2. Pelliccia A, Sharma S, Gati S, et al. 2020 ESC Guidelines on Sports Cardiology and Exercise in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease. Eur Heart J 2020: Aug 29. pii: 5898937. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa605.