Position Statement of the Brazilian Cardiology Society and the Brazilian Society of Hemodynamics and Interventional Cardiology on Training Centers and Professional Certification in Hemodynamics and Interventional Cardiology – 2020

1. Introduction

The first coronary angioplasty, performed by Gruntzig in 1977, marked the beginning of a revolution in cardiovascular disease treatment. Coronary angioplasty was initially considered an alternative to myocardial revascularization. With the passing of the years, accompanied by great technical-scientific advancement, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has gone on to become the modality of choice when opting for mechanistic treatment of obstructive coronary disease. In this manner, coronary obstructions, with their diverse scenarios of complexity and forms of clinical presentation, are currently preferably treated by means of percutaneous techniques. Great advances in scientific knowledge and the development of increasingly less invasive techniques have also made it possible to overcome the limits of the territory of coronary circulation. The range of interventional treatments for cardiovascular and structural heart diseases is increasingly broad, and it represents a new branch of PCI, encompassing congenital and acquired heart diseases which were previously treated by traditional surgery or not even addressed. All of these enormous advances witnessed over the past decades have expanded not only the capacity but also the responsibility of interventional cardiologists within this new model of percutaneous treatments for cardiovascular diseases. The competences attributed to interventional cardiologists have gone on to include percutaneous treatment of structural heart diseases and extracardiac arterial and venous vascular territories, which, in addition to treatment of coronary obstructions, requires a broad and sophisticated process of training and certification.

As the realm of diseases that may be treated by means of percutaneous techniques expands, the processes for training, certifying, and keeping abilities up-to-date undergo a true metamorphosis for interventional cardiologists. It is thus necessary for the Brazilian Society of Hemodynamics and Interventional Cardiology (Sociedade Brasileira de Hemodinâmica e Cardiologia Intervencionista – SBHCI) to revise the stages adopted in this complex process, with the objective of guaranteeing civil society’s access to professionals with the abilities, competences, and responsibility to carry out percutaneous treatment of the diverse diseases included in this vast scenario in a proper and safe manner.

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