Ask when the breathlessness started
Ask when the breathlessness began, review past health records and examine the patient before choosing a heart test.
Career profile
Cardiologist
Cardiologists are medical doctors who diagnose and treat illnesses of the heart and blood vessels.
Heart scan images hold clues. A cardiologist combines them with what the patient describes, decides the next step and explains the reasoning.
A day in the life
Size up chambers and valves
Play the echocardiogram, an ultrasound video of the heart, and compare chamber and valve measurements to spot problems.
Rethink a plan that isn't helping
If symptoms persist, look back at medication responses and test results, then change the treatment plan.
Talk through a possible procedure
Weigh a procedure with fellow physicians, coordinate the doctors and nurses, and explain the options to the patient.
Quick facts
Medical degree + specialty training
United States · 2026
$496,010 median annual pay
United States · May 2025
4.8% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Medical degree + specialty trainingA doctoral or professional degree starts the preparation; residency and cardiology fellowship follow.
Pay
$496,010 median annual payEquivalent to $238.47 an hour in national cardiologist employee wage estimates.
Outlook
4.8% projected growthAbout 500 openings a year, including growth and replacement.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy connecting a person’s account with measurements that may not give an obvious answer.
- You like explaining complicated choices in words someone can use.
- You want to follow patients over time and rethink a plan when it needs changing.
Things to weigh
- Some jobs include overnight work and on-call interruptions; the schedule depends on the practice and hospital responsibilities.
- Medical school, residency and fellowship make this a long commitment before you begin specialist practice.
- You may need to explain serious illness to frightened patients and families, even when you are worried too.
Where AI may help
Research tools can analyze heart ultrasound videos and draft reports about heart structure and function. This is one developing use of artificial intelligence (AI).
What people still lead
You connect the report with symptoms and other findings, choose treatment, and discuss the decision with the patient.
What we can’t predict yet
How much report writing these tools will take over—and how much checking their drafts will require in everyday care—remains unsettled.
Pay in context
Earnings
National pay is high, but the median is not an offer you can expect when you finish training.
The national midpoint
The median was $496,010 a year, with an hourly equivalent of $238.47. These are cardiologist employee wages; they do not describe self-employed practice income.
The spread is wide
Annual wages at the 10th and 90th percentiles were $107,190 and $712,130. Those mark positions in the national wage distribution, not starting and senior salaries.
Openings include replacing departing workers
Employment is projected to grow 4.8%, with about 500 openings annually from growth and replacement. That national projection does not tell you which communities will be hiring.
Getting started
Earn a physician degree
Typically a bachelor’s degree followed by four years of medical school.
- What the route involves
- Complete college preparation, then study for a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree. Medical school combines science with supervised patient care in clinical rotations.
- What it can lead to
- Either degree can lead to internal medicine residency, where you train broadly in adult medical care before cardiology.
Train in internal medicine, then cardiology
- What the route involves
- The standard route includes three years of internal medicine residency and three years of cardiovascular disease fellowship. You care for patients and learn heart testing and procedures with faculty supervision.
- What it can lead to
- For American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) cardiovascular disease certification, you need prior internal medicine certification, qualifying fellowship training, demonstrated competence and an unrestricted medical license. You then earn certification by passing the specialty exam.
- What to check
- State medical licensure is separate from board certification. It requires medical education, postgraduate training and licensing examinations; check the medical board in the state where you plan to practice.
For adult cardiology, the usual route has successive stages. Either physician degree can lead into the specialist training.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization. This path also has a credential or licensing boundary; see the requirements and limits.
Get established
Build a practice of following patients, reviewing their results and checking whether treatment is helping.
Deepen your judgment
Develop stronger heart-imaging skills and discuss difficult cases with colleagues as your experience broadens.
Specialize in procedures
Interventional cardiology focuses on catheter-based treatments. Its standard ABIM training pathway adds a 12-month fellowship, procedure requirements and a further certification exam after cardiovascular disease certification.
Where you can work
Outpatient cardiology clinics
Return visits let you follow patients over time. Some clinics have heart-ultrasound, rhythm-monitoring and exercise-testing services on site, connecting appointments with diagnostic work.
- Indoors
- Office
Teaching hospitals
You see hospitalized patients, consult on other services and work alongside residents and fellows. Intensive cardiac care and specialist units bring more acute illness; some roles include overnight call.
- Indoors
- On call
- Safety-sensitive
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Compare patient-education explanations of an electrocardiogram (ECG), which records heart electrical activity, and an echocardiogram. Write what each helps a cardiologist learn, then explain the difference aloud without jargon. Notice whether you enjoy both the science and the explanation.
Stay safe: Use educational examples, not your own or someone else’s test results to attempt a diagnosis.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Cardiologists — 29-1212.00. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- American College of Cardiology. What Is a Cardiologist?. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — National Estimates. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment Projections Table 1.2 — 2025–2035. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Physicians and Surgeons — Occupational Outlook Handbook. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- American Board of Internal Medicine. Internal Medicine Certification Policies. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- American Board of Internal Medicine. Cardiovascular Disease Certification Policies. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- Federation of State Medical Boards. About Physician Licensure. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- Duke University Department of Medicine. Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship — Training and Curriculum. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- Duke University Department of Medicine. Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship — Training Sites. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- Cedars-Sinai. A Bigger, Better AI Tool for Interpreting Common Heart Test. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- American Board of Internal Medicine. Interventional Cardiology Certification Policies. Accessed 2026-10-09.