Early exposure and training in cardiometabolic medicine may help prepare emerging clinicians with the tools and knowledge needed to deliver optimal and unified care to this high-risk cohort, according to a Fellows in Training/Early Career Page published March 9 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Cian P. McCarthy, MB, BCh, BAO, et al., highlight the shortfalls of current systems of cardiometabolic care, discuss the need for cardiometabolic specialists and provide a proposed framework of a dedicated cardiometabolic training program.

They note that as the scope of cardiometabolic disease broadens, its complications become increasingly recognized and the therapeutic landscape becomes more complex, current training programs must be reimagined to effectively care for patients with cardiometabolic disease.

"We propose a dedicated 1-year cardiometabolic medicine fellowship that will train like-minded individuals across disciplines," the authors write. "This training structure would support not just one specialty caring for cardiometabolic diseases, but rather multiple clinician types equipped with the necessary skillset and experience."

In a response to the column, Mikhail Kosiborod, MD, FACC, comments that "training this new cadre of clinicians will require a new mindset – one that emphasizes a holistic view of patients with cardiometabolic disease as having common root causes and a comprehensive approach to treat these root causes."

He adds, "The process of creating and appropriately accrediting such programs will not be easy, or quick – but now is the right time to start."