Interventional cardiology is a subspecialty that uses catheter-based techniques to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease, structural heart disease, congenital heart defects, and vascular disease. Cardiologists in this subspecialty use diagnostic tools, imaging techniques, and various catheter-inserting procedures that allow them to “work” on patients without cracking open their chests.

These doctors treat angina, heart attacks, arrhythmias, heart failure, heart valve disorders, myocarditis, and various other conditions of the heart. The work they do helps improve the quality of their patients’ lives and, in many cases, saves their lives. That’s why it’s celebrated with an international holiday known as the International Day for Interventional Cardiology — a holiday that’s observed on September 16th every year.

The History of International Day for Interventional Cardiology

This holiday was created with the passage of A/RES/76/302 by the United Nations General Assembly. This resolution was passed on September 2nd, 2022, as a part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. One of the goals of this resolution is to not only increase access to health care for people around the world but also to call for the improvement of medical technology.

Some Facts About Interventional Cardiology

Below are some facts about interventional cardiology that we feel everyone will be interested in learning. While it’s well beyond the scope of a holiday article to cover this field in depth, we can give all of our readers a basic understanding of it that will reveal to them why this subspecialty is so important to millions of people around the world. With that said, let’s take a look at the following facts.

• These doctors treat atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, adult congenital heart disease, and peripheral vascular disease.
• They use diagnostic testing procedures such as intravascular ultrasound, cardiac catheterization, myocardial biopsy, FFR, CFR, and OCT technologies.
• Advanced treatments these doctors use include coronary physiology testing, angioplasty, stenting, and a wide range of other treatments.

Observing International Day for Interventional Cardiology

This holiday can be observed by giving thanks to cardiologists who work in the interventional cardiology field. It’s also a good day for people to lobby their government to increase medical research, which will yield even more improvements in this field as well as in other healthcare fields.

It’s also a good idea for people to push for universal healthcare in their country so that everyone can have access to state-of-the-art medical interventions. On social media, people can use the hashtag #DayForInterventionalCardiology to spread the word about this holiday.