One person dies every 34 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease. From public health to critical care, in the outpatient setting to state-of-the-art clinical research, cardiology is a major staple in any physician-scientist career. The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the basic concepts of cardiology, from anatomy and physiology to common pathologies, with a basic understanding of the tools and procedures performed in the specialty. All these concepts are then integrated to gain novel skills such as basic interpretation and understanding of the electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and the different types of angiographies. Finally, we hypothesize the future directions of cardiology by discussing the most advanced diagnostics and therapeutics, such as proteomic and metabolic profiling, ventricular assistant devices, artificial hearts, and heart transplantation. We use challenging clinical cases based on real-life scenarios to dissect this highly complex and fascinating specialty into clinical, research, and public health concepts. Through lectures, active participation in forums, clinical-based assessments, the most updated materials, and a final presentation of an individual project to the faculty, the course gives students the knowledge to understand how the cardiovascular system works in health and disease. Emphasis includes high-yield concepts of the cardiovascular system present in medical licensing examinations by analyzing epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management of common cardiovascular diseases.
