Resident Resources

Citing the current body of literature and professional society guidelines, the authors of the July 2020 article, “Cardiometabolic Medicine – The U.S. Perspective on a New Subspecialty,”  advocate for a cardiometabolic medicine specialization training program. The multimorbidity of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome are too common to ignore.  They envision a cardiometabolic clinical training program that would “include relevant parts of traditional endocrinology and cardiology programs with an important emphasis on lifestyle.”

In their February 2021 article, “Comprehensive Care Models for Cardiometabolic Disease,” Reiter-Brennan C, Dzaye O, et al, also propose the development of a distinct cardiometabolic specialty to address the complex needs of patients with cardiometabolic conditions, who they argue are currently being managed inadequately. “In light of increasing obesity prevalence, the aging population, and rising medical expenditures, this will only expand in the future,” they write regarding the increasing cost and burden of cardiometabolic diseases on the health care system.

In the traditional training model, students complete medical school and then seek further resident training in a specialty area such as cardiology. Only once they are immersed in their specialty do some providers realize that many patients are seeking care from multiple specialists for conditions that were historically considered unrelated.

Within its Cardiovascular Health Clinic, Mayo Clinic offers a personalized Cardiometabolic Program where patients are treated by a collaborative, multidisciplinary team of specialists that include cardiologists, dieticians, endocrinologists, sleep medicine experts and others. This program highlights the growing understanding that the constellation of symptoms and risk factors deserve a dedicated specialty encompassing many medical disciplines.

Although there is no formal cardiometabolic specialty designation or training for medical residents yet, several leading institutions recognize the need. CMHC’s partner, the Cardiometabolic Center Alliance, recognizes the vast potential of expanding the current care model to include a cardiometabolic specialty within the current scope of clinical training. They are working to recruit 20 health care organizations, academic and professional societies, and other key partners to build a nationwide network of cardiometabolic training centers.

When patients begin to understand, as the medical community now does, that the risk factors and symptoms of cardiometabolic decline are all related, they become equipped to manage their health. Spending less time visiting multiple specialists and more time implementing lifestyle interventions and treating the source of their conditions instead of the symptoms will result in better quality of life and less burden on health care organizations.