Learn Cardiology

What is Cardiology?

The heart, which is usually about the size of a fist, is a hollow beating muscle. It is probably the most iconic organ of the human body. No other organ gets symbolically used for valentines day more than the heart. And, you are not likely to get a loving emoji message decorated with a spleen, or an eye, or even the brain, which in reality is what controls all emotions.

Nevertheless, the heart does some great things aside from being the most popular organ to lovers, poets, storytellers, songwriters, and scriptwriters. It rules the circulation in the body and transports oxygen, nutrients, hormones, heat, immune cells, and waste materials through the entire body again and again and again.

In fact, the heart is the primary circuit of circulation. Its chief responsibility is to pump the blood throughout the circulatory system. While plenty is known about this famous organ, there exists a branch of medicine that deals with the function, the disorders, and where possible, the restoration of a diseased heart. This study is called cardiology.

Cardiology originated from the Greek words “kardiā,” which means heart, and “logia” (the study of). This field involves the assessment, medical diagnosis, and treatment of the disorders of the heart and all the parts of the circulatory system.

Physicians who specialized in this area of internal medicine (field dealing with internal organs) are called cardiologists. In a typical cardiology fellowship or training, subjects such as anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and other medical concepts may also be discussed.

Careers in Cardiology

Physicians who specialize in cardiology usually sub-specialize on areas such as clinical cardiac electrophysiology, cardiothoracic surgery, stroke medicine, pediatric cardiology, adult cardiology, interventional cardiology, and advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology.

An individual who had a cardiology subspecialty training can work in a wide range of areas or alternative career paths and be a consultant cardiologist, medical scientist/researcher, clinical scholar, non-invasive/invasive cardiologist, critical care physician, cardiology nurse practitioner, physician assistant, surgical assistant, medical director, or electrophysiologist to name a few.

Learning Cardiology

Cardiology is a critical field in medical studies. It comprises the study of various concepts, which include topics on basic heart function, diseases and abnormalities, diagnosis, treatment of various conditions, and all aspects of therapy including pharmacology, surgical interventions, rehabilitation, research, and different clinical procedures.

With all these large amounts of factual and procedural knowledge, students in the medical school usually feel obliged to memorize. However, based from research, some are unaware of scientifically-based learning strategies that are more beneficial and effective than memorization alone. Top medical students supplement their studies with additional study tools such as online cardiology videos, graphs/diagrams, drawings/photos, and cognitive tools (apps and software) to optimize the learning process.

Brainscape is a near perfect supplementary tool for this.

Cardiology in Brainscape

In Brainscape, there are various classes, decks, and cards for cardiology starting with the most viewed classes below. These cardiology flashcards are ranked by quality, which include classes that are created by Brainscape users like professors, teachers, and students.

You can use these classes to prepare for MCAT, study efficiently, optimize long term retention of all these medical knowledge, successfully finish medical school, and pass USMLE or residency programs.

Whether you are looking to study for the fundamentals of cardiology or one of the complex disorders of the heart, you are sure to be able to find a deck of flashcards to help.

Also, aside from the ready-made cardiology flashcards below, you can devise your own set of flashcards in cardiology and other subjects. Creating your own flashcards is in itself a learning technique, because every time you make flashcards in earnest, you are familiarizing yourself with the content.

Why not give it a try? Create your own flashcards in Brainscape!

Learn Faster in Brainscape

The greatest benefit of using Brainscape can be exemplified by the application of a cognitive-science-based method that boosts the learning process called “Cognitive Based Repetition” (CBR). This method, along with other learning techniques--Active Recall, Spaced Repetition, and Metacognition--help you learn faster and remember longer.

Active Recall involves "actively" retrieving the right answer from memory, as opposed to passively "selecting" the correct answer amongst a series of multiple choice options. This process boosts connections between neurons – the fundamental functioning unit of the brain.

Metacognition requires you to reflect how deeply you understand the concept. Studies show that this process aids in memory trace (also known as an engram), which is the actual method of storing memories.

CBR acts as an active element of learning by the process called Spaced Repetition. It works by assessing your confidence in how well you knew your answer for each flashcard. It is measured on a scale of 1-5. The system then determines how frequent the card will appear (with 1s coming up repeatedly and 5s hardly ever until you give a report of a higher rating). This is more effective than just studying the concept repeatedly because retrieval efforts after the initial learning is a major contributor to successful learning.

These learning strategies can help anyone learning cardiology (or any subject) progress optimally in the least amount of time.

How to Get Started

You can start by browsing some of the cardiology classes below. Once you have selected a class, try to analyze how each class are structured into decks. Continue browsing each deck to determine if they are the perfect set of combinations that will benefit you most. Finally, launch your study session by clicking the “Study These Flashcards”!