Every cardiologist keeps a mental file of the cases that changed how they practise: the one that did not read the way the textbook said it would, the one where the obvious diagnosis was wrong, the one where a small decision at 2 a.m. determined the outcome. The Academy’s interesting cases library is where members put those cases in front of each other.

What the library is for

This is not a collection of rarities. A case earns its place here because it teaches something transferable — a diagnostic trap, a decision point with genuine equipoise, an imaging finding that is easy to miss, or a complication that was recognised and managed well. Common presentations with an instructive twist are more useful to more readers than a once-in-a-career zebra.

What a strong submission contains

  • A clean clinical narrative. Presentation, relevant history, examination findings and the initial working diagnosis, written in the order the treating team actually encountered them.
  • The investigations that mattered. ECGs, echocardiographic images, angiographic runs, cross-sectional imaging and the key laboratory values — with the findings pointed out, not left for the reader to hunt.
  • The decision point, stated honestly. The most valuable part of any case is the moment where reasonable clinicians would have disagreed. Say what you chose and why.
  • Outcome and follow-up. Including outcomes that were poor. Cases that went badly and were analysed carefully teach more than cases that went smoothly.
  • A short teaching summary. Three or four lines on what a reader should take away, anchored to current guidelines or landmark trial evidence where relevant.

Patient confidentiality

Every submission must be fully de-identified before it reaches us. Remove names, hospital numbers, dates of birth, admission dates, institution identifiers and any facial or identifying features from images; check the DICOM header as well as the visible image, since patient identifiers frequently survive there after they have been cropped from the picture. Where a case remains potentially identifiable despite de-identification, written patient consent is required and must be retained by the submitting clinician.

How submissions are handled

Cases are reviewed by a member of the editorial panel working in the relevant subspecialty. You may be asked for a better image, a missing investigation, or a clearer account of the reasoning. Accepted cases are published with full attribution to the submitting clinician and their institution. Cases that are not accepted receive a short explanation, and many are accepted after revision.

Submit a case

Use the case submission form to send a case, or write to the editorial panel through the contact page if you want to discuss an idea before preparing it in full.

If you enjoy working through cases, the Academy runs two related exercises: the image of the month challenge, which turns on a single image, and the quiz of the month. Structured case-based teaching runs through the Academy course programme, and members researching a pattern they have noticed in their own cases should read about the Academy research programme. Case collections in book form are listed in the diagnosis and imaging reading list.