Portrait: Pim de Feyter

How long have you worked in Cardiology?

My first training in cardiology was from 1974 to 1977, I then became a staff member in the Cardiology department at the Free University Hospital in Amsterdam and then in 1983 I moved to the Erasmus University in Amsterdam where I planned to stay for only a few years… I’m still there!

What prompted you to choose cardiology over other areas of medicine?

In the 1970’s cardiology was still a very young specialisation that offered something in-between internal and surgical medicine. I liked the idea of a career that offered me a bit of both and where there was a lot of unchartered territory.

What have been your personal highs during your career?

I have been very lucky to be a significant contributor to balloon and stent percutaneous treatment and to have been so involved with various cardiology societies.

How has your field evolved during your career?

The development of statins was a very important and provided enormous improvement in outcomes for patients. Percutaneous coronary intervention has been a vital evolution in cardiology but that’s not to say that surgery does not have its place and is any less important.

Tell us about your involvement in EuroPCR!

Before EuroPCR, I was one of the founders of the Rotterdam Course. This Course became too small for the number of delegates and we joined forces with Jean Marco who had been running the Toulouse Course and had moved it to Paris. This then later evolved into what we now know as EuroPCR.

What would you like to see at EuroPCR in the future?

Live cases will remain important but I can see that better, more structured live cases are going to become even more important in the future, from an educational perspective. I can see too that we will need even more interaction with other disciplines such as surgeons and radiologists. EuroPCR already does this so is the perfect vehicle for improving this further. The number of smaller, more intimate sessions at EuroPCR is a great idea and if these increased in number it could further enhance interactivity. It would be great too to see more simulators used during the Course to allow others get a real feel for new procedures.

What do you feel are the biggest challenges faced today by the cardiology community?

We need earlier detection, quite often when we diagnose ACS it is already too late as some damage has been done. We also need future improvements in PCI, not only coronary PCI but also valves, intervention for holes in the heart, insufficiency, stenosis and so on. Better pharmaceutical therapy is needed because even our current treatments only postpone disease in 30% of people. Finally, real-time 3D imaging in the cathlab would revolutionise diagnosis and treatment but that is likely to be many years away.

What are your plans for the future and what do you like to do in your spare time?

I am officially semi-retired as of very recently but I will still be working in Cardiology but probably not spending as many hours as I have in the past, at work! I am looking forward to using this time to visit museums, attend concerts and devote further time to writing about Dutch history.

Pim de Feyter has coordinated the EuroPCR Trials Book since 2000 - providing the community with a unique one-stop reference book. In 2009, the Trials Book is available online.