Cardiac Catheterization Hemodynamics for Congenital Heart Disease

Abstract Cardiac catheterization hemodynamics is a critical topic to the understanding of many of concepts related to diagnosing and treating congenital heart disease. Results from these procedures are used to predict the severity of disease and help in determining types of surgeries that should be performed. While there are many books and lectures on this topic, the design of such learning methods tends to be passive in nature. Further, there are many hemodynamic calculators available that simply perform the calculations and practitioners often rely on these so-called calculators to “interpret” patients' values without really understanding the concepts behind the calculations. A supplemental handout on catheter lab hemodynamics with explanations and calculations is distributed to the trainees via a website so that they can read and review the materials before the module. This is then followed up with a session where the facilitator review the examples in the handout. At the completion of that session, a series of assignment questions are made available that the trainees complete as a “take-home” assignment, working through the problems on their own and at their own pace, thus reinforcing the concepts. One month was allotted to complete the assignment and the due date is set on a Friday with a debriefing session the following Monday to review and discuss the problems at length. Following the debriefing session, the answer key is provided. Our trainees spend a significant amount of time in the catheterization lab anesthetizing patients with congenital heart disease and taking care of them for their surgical repairs. Despite the clinical importance of this material, learners had no formal, guided opportunity to practice these concepts before this tutorial was implemented. Additionally, there was no formal way to evaluate their learning. Therefore, this module was designed for the cardiac rotation that strives to teach basic concepts actively through problem solving and then also provide a simple evaluation of their understanding.