Percutaneous Valvular and Structural Heart Disease Interventions.
2024 Core Curriculum of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) of the ESC in collaboration with the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) and the Cardiovascular Surgery Working Group (WG CVS) of the European Society of Cardiology
The "Percutaneous Valvular and Structural Heart Disease Interventions. 2024 Core Curriculum of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) of the ESC in collaboration with the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) and the Cardiovascular Surgery Working Group (WG CVS) of the European Society of Cardiology" outlines advanced practices in interventional cardiology, focusing on the management and treatment of valvular and structural heart diseases (SHD). Developed by the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), alongside the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) and the Cardiovascular Surgery Working Group (WG CVS) of the European Society of Cardiology, this comprehensive curriculum serves as a guide for clinicians involved in percutaneous heart interventions.
The SHD interventional cardiologists (IC) are cardiologists who have received complete interventional cardiology training. They are medical specialists who manage SHD patients from diagnosis to follow-up and perform percutaneous procedures in this area. They are expected to be proficient in the aortic, mitral, and tricuspid areas. They may have selective skills in either the aortic area or mitral/tricuspid areas. In that case, they must still have common transversal competencies in the aortic, mitral, and tricuspid areas. Additional SHD domain competencies are optional. Completing dedicated SHD training, aiming for full aortic, mitral, and tricuspid competencies, requires at least 18 months. For full training in the aortic area, with basic competencies in mitral/tricuspid areas, the training can be reduced to 1 year. The same is true for training in the mitral/tricuspid area, with competencies in the aortic area.
The curriculum highlights essential principles of interventional procedures aimed at treating heart failure and thromboembolic diseases. It describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that define competency levels required by newly trained SHD IC and provides guidance on how a training centre should be organised. The document addresses the practicalities and procedural aspects of structural heart disease interventions, providing step-by-step approaches, including patient selection, procedural techniques, and post-intervention management. The integration of advanced imaging techniques is emphasised to aid in precise diagnosis, planning, and monitoring of interventional procedures. It stresses the importance of collaboration between cardiologists, imaging specialists, and surgeons, ensuring that all specialists contribute to optimal patient care and treatment outcomes.
Finally, the curriculum serves as a continuous resource for excellence and homogenous training across Europe, aiming to improve the skill set of practitioners by fostering quality-of-care delivery and patient protection.
