From the Lungs to the Heart

Abstract

From the start,nuclear medicine has had to deal with political issues,particularly because it cuts across so many other specialties.Today,studies of the heart account for the majority of studies in nuclear medicine.Most are performed by cardiologists as well as in well-established nuclear medicine departments.In 1992,the American Board of Nuclear Medicine (ABNM)proposed to the American Board of Internal Medicine that a subspecialty board of cardiovascular nuclear medicine be established.The cardiologists on the board believed that it did not take a year of special training for cardiologists to perform nuclear cardiology studies.Today both the cardiology board and the ABIM require demonstrable expertise in nuclear cardiology.