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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">CC</journal-id>
<journal-id journal-id-type="nlm-ta">Cardiol Croat</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>Cardiologia Croatica</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="pubmed">Cardiol. Croat.</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="ppub">1848-543X</issn>
<issn pub-type="epub">1848-5448</issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Croatian Cardiac Society</publisher-name></publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">CC_13(1-2)_31</article-id>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.15836/ccar2018.31</article-id>
<article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Extended Abstract</subject></subj-group>
</article-categories>
<title-group>
<article-title>Retirement of interventional cardiologists</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group>
<contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><name><surname>Prvulovi&#x0107;</surname><given-names>&#x0110;eiti</given-names></name><ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8041-1197">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8041-1197</ext-link><xref ref-type="corresp" rid="cor1">*</xref></contrib>
<aff id="aff1">General Hospital &#x201C;Dr. Josip Ben&#x010D;evi&#x0107;&#x201D;, Slavonski Brod, <country>Croatia</country></aff>
</contrib-group>
<author-notes>
<corresp id="cor1"><label>*</label>ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: &#x0110;eiti Prvulovi&#x0107;, Op&#x0107;a bolnica &#x201C;Dr. Josip Ben&#x010D;evi&#x0107;&#x201D;, A. &#x0160;tampara 42, HR-35000 Slavonski Brod, Croatia. / Phone: +385-91-554-7188 / E-mail: <email xlink:href="deiti.prvulovic@gmail.com">deiti.prvulovic@gmail.com</email></corresp></author-notes>
<pub-date pub-type="epub-ppub"><month>02</month><year>2018</year></pub-date>
<volume>13</volume>
<issue>1-2</issue>
<fpage>31</fpage>
<lpage>31</lpage>
<history>
<date date-type="received"><day>02</day><month>02</month><year>2018</year></date><date date-type="accepted"><day>10</day><month>02</month><year>2018</year></date>
</history>
<permissions>
<copyright-year>2018</copyright-year>
<copyright-holder>Croatian Cardiac Society</copyright-holder>
</permissions>
<kwd-group kwd-group-type="author"><title>Keywords: </title><kwd>retirement age</kwd><kwd>cognitive impairment</kwd><kwd>interventional cardiology</kwd></kwd-group>
</article-meta>
</front>
<body>
<p>There is no mandated retirement age for physicians in the United States, and physicians 65 and older currently represent 23 percent of physicians in the United States (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="r1"><italic>1</italic></xref>). It is estimated that 5-10% of people age 65 and older have dementia. (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="r2"><italic>2</italic></xref>) Older physicians have deep knowledge, well-honed interpersonal skills, better judgement than young ones and more balanced perspective. To perform demanding and challenging job of interventional cardiologist, physician must have the physical and mental ability. Health, physical ability, and cognition decline with age, but with significant variability in the cognitive aging process across older adults. (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="r2"><italic>2</italic></xref>) Is there an age limit for interventional cardiologist? Is it everything in the age? If there is physical or cognitive decline, who is going to make an assessment and how to measure it? Who is responsible to act in this situation? What are impediments to stop catheterization laboratory activity? In Croatia there is a lack of experienced interventional cardiologist. Mandatory retirement age is 65. &#x201E;For many of us, cardiology is not only a career but a lifetime endeavor&#x201C;. (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="r3"><italic>3</italic></xref>) We must think about opportunities of advantages of older colleagues and their possible contribution to the health care environment as potent knowledge and experience resources, in practical work in catheterization laboratory, in advocacy and in education.</p>
</body>
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<ref-list>
<title>LITERATURE</title>
<ref id="r1"><label>1</label><mixed-citation publication-type="book">Smart DR, editor. Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the US, 2015 Edition. Chicago, IL: American Medical Association, 2015.</mixed-citation></ref>
<ref id="r2"><label>2</label><mixed-citation publication-type="web">Medcape. Hyer R. Cognitive Impairment in Older Physicians May Be Widespread. Available at: <ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/532007">https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/532007</ext-link> (1.2.2018).</mixed-citation></ref>
<ref id="r3"><label>3</label><mixed-citation publication-type="journal"><person-group person-group-type="author"><name><surname>Drag</surname><given-names>LL</given-names></name><name><surname>Bieliauskas</surname><given-names>LA</given-names></name><name><surname>Langenecker</surname><given-names>SA</given-names></name><name><surname>Greenfield</surname><given-names>LJ</given-names></name></person-group>. <article-title>Cognitive functioning, retirement status, and age: results from the Cognitive Changes and Retirement among Senior Surgeons study.</article-title> <source>J Am Coll Surg</source>. <year>2010</year> Sep;<volume>211</volume>(<issue>3</issue>):<fpage>303</fpage>&#x2013;<lpage>7</lpage>. <pub-id pub-id-type="doi">10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2010.05.022</pub-id><pub-id pub-id-type="pmid">20800185</pub-id></mixed-citation></ref>
</ref-list>
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</article>
