STRess Assessment of INterventional Cardiology Fellows and Attendings

Interventional cardiology (IC) fellows and attendings experience high levels of stress. In a recent study, IC fellowship was considered very stressful by 22%, somewhat stressful by 62%, and not stressful by 16%(1). In a different study, 29% of the IC fellows considered leaving their job during the past year, while more than a quarter (29%) felt overwhelmed ≥3x/week(2). Moreover, the same study reports that burnout affects 69% of the interventional cardiologists. In addition, in the Medscape Cardiologist Lifestyle, Happiness & Burnout Report 2023, 43% of the cardiologists in general reported being burned out and 23% were depressed(3). However, it remains unknown whether they deal with increased stress before, during, and after a procedure, if their stress decreases (and if so, how much) with experience, and how they recover after a procedure. The present study will study the stress levels of IC fellows and attendings using various subjective metrics and wearable devices.