The Division of Cardiovascular Medicine's Interventional Cardiology Fellowship is characterized by a well-rounded experience in clinical and investigative interventional and diagnostic techniques. The program is organized to provide training and experience in the evaluation and management of a wide variety of patients with acute and chronic cardiovascular conditions, including coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction and other acute coronary ischemic syndromes, valvular heart disease, and peripheral vascular disease.
Clinical training will occur in the cardiac catheterization and interventional laboratories within the Division of Cardiology. Presently over 3,500 diagnostic studies and 800 interventional procedures are performed annually. During training fellows will have opportunities to diagnose, select therapies, perform interventional procedures, and manage and judge the effectiveness of treatment for inpatients and outpatients with chronic cardiovascular diseases. The interventional fellowship will also offer wide exposure in the evaluation of patients with peripheral vascular disease in the selection of appropriate diagnostic and interventional procedures required in a variety of chronic arterial conditions.
Fellows will be expected to develop the skills required to select appropriate patients for specific interventional techniques and will be involved in post-procedural care. They will also acquire the skills in performing and interpreting coronary angiographic films, hemodynamics, intravascular ultrasound, and intracoronary Doppler flow and intracoronary pressure monitoring. The interventional fellowship program also offers a post-procedure ambulatory clinic for long-term risk factor modification and assessing outcomes in patients undergoing coronary or peripheral vascular intervention.
Interventional fellows will be required to vigorously pursue and submit grants for research support, and will be expected to submit their research for publication in peer-reviewed journals. In addition, presentations at lectures, conferences, journal clubs, or medical grand rounds regarding their research is required. Fellows will work closely with the research laboratory coordinator in the preparation of grants, and will work with assigned faculty members to carry out specific interventional projects. The fellow will be expected to participate in animal as well as clinical research.
The Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute provides a vehicle for amplifying clinical investigation that will enhance the research productivity of trainees. This association with The Heart and Lung Institute will enable the catheterization laboratories to begin investigations into novel diagnostic techniques and therapeutic strategies of ischemic heart disease including intravascular brachytherapy, direct myocardial revascularization, left ventricular endocardial mapping for the detection of ischemia and myocardial viability, and clinical trials of gene therapy.
