How to Become a Cardiologist

About Cardiologist

Cardiologists are physicians who diagnose and treat heart diseases and cardiovascular ailments. It usually takes 10-13 years to become a cardiologist. They specialise in treating diseases like congenital heart defects, heart failure, coronary artery diseases and valvular heart diseases. They only work with people who need special heart-related care or have had heart-related conditions earlier. A cardiologist will often focus on one type of patient. An adult cardiologist sees only adult patients. Likewise, a  pediatric cardiologist sees the only infant, child, or teen patients. Cardiology is one of the most complex fields in medicine, therefore many cardiologists specialize in different areas. All cardiologists are clinical cardiologists who focus on the diagnosis, medical management and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Eligibility to become Cardiologist

If you are planning to be a cardiologist and the question 'How to Become a Cardiologist?' always comes to your mind then you will be required to get an MBBS degree from any medical institute recognized by the Medical Council of India. After that, a master's degree in cardiology is a must to begin your career as a cardiologist. Given below is the step-by-step process to become a Cardiologist:

Step1

MBBS is the basic degree required to enter the field of Medicine and is the first step towards becoming a cardiologist. It is a five and a half year degree which includes one year of compulsory internship.

Step 2

It is mandatory to have a master's degree in cardiology to practice as a cardiologist. There are many postgraduation medical entrance exams in India which include All India Post Graduate Medical Entrance Exam, BHU MD/MS entrance test and others

Step 3

Once you have completed your DM and have the license from the Medical Council of India, you are eligible to apply for cardiologist jobs in different sectors.

Types of Job Roles Cardiologist

After completing the required academic qualification in the field of cardiology, there is an ample number of cardiologists job profiles. Some of the popular cardiologist's job profiles are  given below:

Cardiology Surgeon: Cardiology surgeons are physicians who perform surgeries on the heart and blood vessels of the chest cavity. Becoming a cardiology surgeon requires extensive education and training, including an undergraduate degree, medical school, residency and internship. A state-issued medical license is also required for the same.

ECG (electrocardiographic) Technologist: Cardiographic/ Electrocardiographic technicians are responsible for working with patients to assist doctors in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac diseases, such as irregular heartbeats and arrhythmias.

Interventional Cardiologist: Interventional cardiologists are responsible for treating a range of heart and vascular diseases through a treatment known as catheterization.

Cardiac Catheterization Technologist: Their job role is to perform diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterizations and other cardiac-related procedures. They insert small catheters through a needle into the patient's blood vessels and hears to determine X-rays and other recordings to determine the heart’s structure and function.

Nuclear Cardiologist: The nuclear cardiologist is responsible for conducting tests for specific clinical indications, supervising cardiac stress tests and helping patient management.

Cardiology Director: Cardiology director is the head of the cardiology department and is the senior post in the respective department. His job role is to lead and direct the programs and the staff of the cardiology department. He ensures the smooth functioning of the department to meet the current needs and also addresses the future needs of patients by introducing new services, procedures and technologies.

Interventional Cardiologists: Their job is to perform more advanced procedures than the invasive and non-invasive cardiologist.

Invasive Cardiologists: They carry out a diagnostic procedure such as cardiac catheterization to find blockages of the arteries.

Employment Sector/Industry for Cardiologist

When working as a Cardiologist, you will be subjected to the following responsibilities. 

• Examining patients for assessing their condition

• Providing patients with health advice

• Explaining the risk of prohibited activities to the patients

• Commanding lab research

• Tracking and measuring the improvement in a patient's health

• Ensuring adherence to the relevant laws and regulations

• Performing surgeries on patients with heart-related problems

Employment Opportunities for Cardiologist

Cardiologists can find a wide variety of employment opportunities and it is regarded as one of the most employable and respected job profiles in the medical and healthcare sector Listed below are the top sectors and industries that hire cardiologists:

• Government Hospitals
• Private Hospitals
• Specialist Hospitals
• Armed Forces Medical Services
• Cardiology Clinics
• Private Practice

Top Recruiting Companies for Cardiologist

Some of the leading super speciality hospitals that hire Cardiologist are as follows:

• Indian Armed Forces Medical Services
• Max Hospital
• Fortis
• Artemis
• AIIMS
• Apollo Hospitals

Pay Scale/Salary of Cardiologist

Salary of a Cardiologist at different levels is given below.  

Note: The above figures are an estimate and may vary from individual to individual and company to company.

Books & Study Material to Become Cardiologist

Cardiology is a complex field and it will require you to update your knowledge and technique from time to time. Therefore to enhance your knowledge aspiring cardiologists can go through the following books and study material:

• Braunwald’s Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine

• The ESC Textbook of Incentive and Acute Cardiovascular Care

• The Cleveland Clinic Cardiology Board Review

• Pathophysiology of Heart Disease: A Collaborative Project of Medical Students and Faculty

Pros of becoming a Cardiologist

• Cardiologists are one of the highest paid physicians in the medical field and they have favourable employment growth as compared to others.
• They have very high job prospects and are always in demand.
• They treat a variety of heart conditions and diseases which gives them a wide array of cases and helping resolve different conditions and diseases keep their work interesting.
• Heart surgeries are one of the most challenging and respectable jobs.

Cons of becoming a Cardiologist

• One of the biggest drawback to being a cardiologist is the work schedule and long working hours. There are typically not that many qualified cardiologists in a particular region or an area, you may have to put in many hours to see all of the patients that need your help.
• Some cardiologists work in excess of 60 hours per week on a regular basis.
• They have to go through more than 10 years in education before becoming a cardiologist.
• You'll need a four-year bachelor's degree plus an additional four years of medical school followed by a residency program which may take up eight years.