ABP Pediatric Cardiology study guide
ABP Pediatric Cardiology · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) offers subspecialty certification in pediatric cardiology to physicians who complete accredited fellowship training in the field and satisfy the board's admission requirements. Certification is voluntary and goes beyond state licensure: it signals that a pediatric cardiologist has met a nationally defined standard and has committed to continuous learning and improvement. The ABP Pediatric Cardiology study guide has 10 sections and about 2,732 words.
01Congenital Heart Disease: Anatomy, Physiology, and Management
Congenital lesions are best organized by shunt direction, pulmonary blood flow, and ductal dependence. Left-to-right shunts (VSD, ASD, PDA) raise pulmonary blood flow and produce a murmur from turbulence, not from the size of the defect.
301 words, about 2 min02Acquired and Inflammatory Heart Disease
Kawasaki disease is a medium-vessel vasculitis and the leading cause of acquired coronary artery disease in children in high-income countries. Diagnosis is clinical: fever for at least five days plus four of five features-bilateral nonexudative conjunctivitis, oral mucosal changes, polymorphous rash, cervical lymphadenopathy, and extremity changes.
311 words, about 2 min03Arrhythmias and Electrophysiology
Pediatric arrhythmias range from benign sinus arrhythmia to fetal and neonatal supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), congenital complete heart block, and inherited channelopathies. SVT in infants is usually narrow-complex and abrupt in onset, with rates often above 220 beats/min; P waves may be hidden.
326 words, about 2 min04Heart Failure, Cardiomyopathy, and Cardiac Transplantation
Pediatric heart failure often reflects congenital heart disease, myocarditis, or cardiomyopathy rather than adult ischemic disease. Dilated cardiomyopathy causes systolic dysfunction and remodeling; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy causes diastolic dysfunction and dynamic outflow obstruction; restrictive cardiomyopathy causes elevated filling pressures with relatively preserved ejection fraction.
283 words, about 1 min05Pulmonary Hypertension and Pulmonary Vascular Disease
Pulmonary hypertension is elevated mean pulmonary artery pressure with increased pulmonary vascular resistance. In children, causes include idiopathic and heritable disease, congenital heart disease with left-to-right shunt, chronic lung disease, and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn.
266 words, about 1 min06Diagnostic Imaging, Echocardiography, and Catheterization
Echocardiography is the first-line tool for anatomy, shunts, ventricular function, and gradients. Cardiac MRI quantifies ventricular volumes, flow, and fibrosis; CT is useful for complex vascular anatomy and airways.
263 words, about 1 min07Fetal and Neonatal Cardiology
The fetal circulation uses three shunts: ductus venosus, foramen ovale, and ductus arteriosus. Oxygenated umbilical blood preferentially reaches the left atrium and brain, while the ductus arteriosus diverts blood away from the lungs.
256 words, about 1 min08Cardiac Intensive Care and Mechanical Support
After cardiopulmonary bypass, children are at risk for low cardiac output, bleeding, tamponade, arrhythmia, and capillary leak. Management prioritizes oxygenation, ventilation, sedation, and judicious fluid resuscitation.
242 words, about 1 min09Preventive Cardiology and Cardiovascular Genetics
Preventive cardiology in children includes primordial prevention of obesity and hypertension, lipid screening in high-risk families, tobacco avoidance, and physical activity promotion. Cardiovascular genetics identifies inherited conditions such as familial hypercholesterolemia, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, long QT syndrome, Marfan syndrome, and Loeys-Dietz syndrome.
252 words, about 1 min10Core Competencies: Professionalism, Communication, Systems, Quality, and Scholarship
Professionalism, communication, systems-based practice, quality improvement, and scholarship are assessed through daily behavior. Professionalism includes honesty, error disclosure, respect, and accountability.
232 words, about 1 min