There are fewer than 500 board-certified adult congenital heart disease specialists in the U.S., according to a study published July 1 in the American Journal of Cardiology, while the number of adults with congenital heart disease is growing by about 5% every year.
Ten years after the specialty’s training pathway was established, Georges Ephrem, MD, from Memphis-based University of Tennessee Health Science Center, has examined the state of the board-certified adult congenital heart disease workforce.
Here are five notes from his analysis:
- Since the training standards were established in 2015, 509 cardiologists have earned board certification in adult congenital heart disease.
Adult congenital heart disease specialists have received training in two ways:
- Applying for specialty training after completing an accredited general adult cardiology or pediatric cardiology fellowship.
- Between 2015 and 2019, eligible practicing cardiologists could complete a supplemental practice pathway.
- Of the 509 all-time specialist cohort, 498 of these cardiologists have current active board certification status.
The difference of 11 specialists can be attributed to death, retirement or an inactive medical license. - Among the 509 all-time specialist cohort, 89% received board certification in adult congenital heart disease before 2019. They are predominantly male and most have a background in pediatric cardiology.
- The remaining 11% of specialists, who were certified after 2019, are younger, more likely to have a background in adult cardiology and less likely to be male.
- “It is recommended that three to six adult congenital heart disease cardiologists are required to serve a population of 1 million people, of whom around 3,000 to 4,000 are adults with congenital heart disease,” Dr. Ephrem wrote in the study. “The current active workforce is far less than is recommended for optimal delivery of adult congenital heart disease care.”
Read the full study here.
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