March 3, 2026Open Access

Pediatric Cardiology Training and Certification in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Cross-Sectional Regional Survey of Current Practice

Key Points

Formal accredited pediatric cardiology training programs exist in 11 out of 17 countries, indicating a regional need for standardization.
The survey found that training programs reported a median of two fellows per year, with most operating under varying institutional models.
Data were analyzed using aggregated responses per country to mitigate clustering bias and ensure accurate representation.
Despite progress in accredited training programs, nearly one-third of countries have no structured training pathways for pediatric cardiology.

Abstract

Developing high-quality congenital and pediatric cardiology training programs across Latin America and the Caribbean remains an ongoing challenge. Regional variations in resources, institutional infrastructure, and accreditation processes have not been systematically studied. Empowering Hearts Globally (EHG) is an international consortium supporting CHD training in low- and middle-income countries LMICs. A regional survey was distributed to clinicians involved in CHD care across Latin America and the Caribbean. Responses were analysed at the country level, using one data point per country to avoid clustering bias and included aggregated data on disease burden, urgency of intervention, and care resources. We also performed a secondary desk-based verification using publicly available government, university, and hospital sources to corroborate country-level training status. There were 32 respondents (44 invited, 73% response rate) from 17 countries. Formal accredited paediatric cardiology training programmes were reported by 11 of 17 countries (65%), while formal but non-accredited programmes were present in 2 (12%), and no formal training pathways were reported in 4 (23%). Most programmes trained a small number of fellows (median 2 per year) over a median 2.5 years (range 2–3.5 years). National recognition or certification of training existed in 13 of 17 countries (77%). CHD care was provided within public (82%), private (82%), and mixed (65%) institutional models, with children’s hospital cardiac units reported in 53% of countries. Paediatric cardiology training across Latin America and the Caribbean remains highly heterogeneous. Although over half of countries report formal accredited programmes, nearly one-third lack structured training opportunities. The EHG framework aims to provide a scalable pathway to standardize and strengthen pediatric cardiology education regionally.

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