title: Recommendations of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group on Future Direction in Cardiac Surgery.
abstract: New surgical procedures, imaging modalities, and medical devices have improved therapy for many patients and made treatment possible for others who have had few options in the past. In February 2004, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's (NHLBI) Advisory Council proposed that the institute evaluate the status and future directions in cardiac surgery. In response to this recommendation, the NHLBI convened a working group of cardiac surgeons on May 7 and 8, 2004, to assess the state of cardiac surgery research, identify critical gaps in current knowledge, determine areas of opportunity, and obtain specific recommendations for future research activities. The working group discussed surgical revascularization, novel surgical approaches, valvular research directions, biotechnology and cell-based therapy, heart failure, imaging modalities, and barriers to clinical research and presents its recommendations here.
authors.affiliation: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md, USA. wbaumgar@csurg.jhmi.jhu.edu
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Baumgartner
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burrows
authors.forename: Pedro J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: del Nido
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Gorman
authors.forename: George V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Letsou
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mascette
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Michler
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Puskas
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: Todd K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Rosengart
authors.forename: Frank W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Sellke
authors.forename: Sara J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Shumway
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wilke
mesh_terms: D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005544:Forecasting; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D012106:Research