Cardiovascular Critical Care Training: A Collaboration between Intensivists and Cardiologists

With growing patient complexity, the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CICU) of today has evolved substantially from the coronary care unit (CCU) of decades ago. The growing burden of noncardiac critical illness and highly specialized acute cardiovascular disease requires a degree of expertise beyond that afforded through a general cardiology training program. Therefore, the American Heart Association (AHA) has proposed a CICU staffing model to include dedicated cardiac intensivists; in the present day, “dual-trained” physicians are extremely sparse. Guidance on designing critical care fellowships for cardiologists is limited but will require collaboration between cardiologists and medical intensivists. Here, we review the evolution of the CICU, describe training pathways, and offer guidance on creating a cardiology critical care training program.