Clinical opportunities during the interventional cardiology fellowship
By the end of the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship at Tufts Medical Center, fellows develop the knowledge, skills and hands-on experience needed to practice confidently as interventional cardiologists.
Throughout the program, fellows take on increasing responsibility for patient care and procedures under expert supervision. This ensures they build the expertise required for independent practice. Fellows will:
- Understand when and when not to perform percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), including optimal care before and after PCI
- Learn radiological imaging principles for the heart and lungs, with a focus on radiation safety
- Gain proficiency in performing PCI on major coronary arteries and branches
- Develop skills to interpret images and hemodynamic tracings during PCI, contributing to multidisciplinary decision-making
- Recognize and manage both common and rare PCI complications and engage in peer review of adverse events
- Master the use of interventional devices such as balloons, stents, atherectomy tools, intracoronary brachytherapy, distal protection devices, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), percutaneous thrombectomy and lasers
- Apply interventional techniques for valvular heart disease, including percutaneous valvuloplasty for mitral and aortic stenosis
- Use interventional methods to treat congenital heart defects like patent foramen ovale and atrial septal defect closures
- Understand when to perform percutaneous transeptal myocardial ablation for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Evaluate and treat patients with peripheral vascular disease
Gain expertise in advanced procedures including endomyocardial biopsy, invasive management of decompensated heart failure, vasodilator and inotrope hemodynamic studies, IVUS for transplant arteriopathy, high-risk PCI in advanced ischemic cardiomyopathy, and the use of percutaneous ventricular assist devices for ventricular support and with surgical LVADs
This comprehensive clinical training prepares fellows to lead in a wide range of interventional cardiology settings.
