It may be necessary to establish a dedicated preventive cardiology subspecialty to train clinicians of the future, according to a perspective from ACC's Prevention Council published Oct. 7 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Michael D. Shapiro, DO, FACC, et al., examine the need for the development of preventive cardiology as a subspecialty, highlighting the barriers to its maturation and the opportunities for successful implementation and growth. ­They note that although significant progress has been made to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease, efforts have focused primarily on treatment of manifest disease rather than on prevention of events.

The authors explain that the promising specialty of preventive cardiology is emerging from the background of long-established services such as lipid, diabetes, hypertension and general cardiology clinics. With the emergence of new drugs and targets associated with improved cardiovascular outcomes, the authors write that "we are in the midst of a revolution in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease."

Furthermore, the authors note that advances in basic science, epidemiology, genetics, clinical trials, therapeutics, risk assessment and cardiovascular imaging will be implemented more widely in the coming years. They add that preventive cardiovascular specialists of the future will require training and expertise beyond what is currently delivered in standard fellowship training programs.

"Issues related to primary and secondary prevention are becoming increasingly complex, and more and more patients are seeking specialized advice on cardiovascular risk assessment and management," the authors conclude.

Keywords: Fellowships and Scholarships, Secondary Prevention, Specialization, Risk Factors, Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Risk Assessment, Certification, Lipids

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