Significant Points for CadioVascular Technician Work

• About 3 out of 4 CardioVascular technician jobs were in hospitals.
• The vast majority of CardioVascular technician complete a 2-year junior or community college program.
• CardioVascular technician Employment will grow much faster than the average, but the number of job openings created will be low because the occupation is small. Employment of most specialties will grow,..

CardioVascular technician assist physicians in diagnosing and treating cardiac (heart) and peripheral vascular (blood vessel) ailments. CardioVascular technician may specialize in any of three areas of practice: invasive cardiology, echocardiography, and vascular technology.

CardioVascular technician specializing in invasive procedures are called cardiology technologists. They assist physicians with cardiac catheterization procedures in which a small tube, or catheter, is threaded through a patient’s artery from a spot on the patient’s groin to the heart. The procedure can determine whether a blockage exists in the blood vessels that supply the heart muscle. The procedure also can help to diagnose other problems. Part of the procedure may involve balloon angioplasty, which can be used to treat blockages of blood vessels or heart valves without the need for heart surgery. CardioVascular technician assist physicians as they insert a catheter with a balloon on the end to the point of the obstruction. CardioVascular technician prepare patients for cardiac catheterization and balloon angioplasty by first positioning them on an examining table and then shaving, cleaning, and administering anesthesia to the top of their leg near the groin. During the procedures, they monitor patients’ blood pressure and heart rate with cardiology equipment and notify the physician if something appears to be wrong. CardioVascular technician also may prepare and monitor patients during open-heart surgery and during the insertion of pacemakers and stents that open up blockages in arteries to the heart and major blood vessels. CardioVascular technician who specialize in echocardiography or vascular technology often run noninvasive tests using ultrasound instrumentation, such as Doppler ultrasound. Tests are called “noninvasive” if they do not require the insertion of probes or other instruments into the patient’s body.

The ultrasound instrumentation transmits high-frequency sound waves into areas of the patient’s body and then processes reflected echoes of the sound waves to form an image. CardioVascular technician view the ultrasound image on a screen and may record the image on videotape or photograph it for interpretation and diagnosis by a physician. As the instrument scans the image, technologists check the image on the screen for subtle differences between healthy and diseased areas, decide which images to include in the report to the physician, and judge whether the images are satisfactory for diagnostic purposes. They also explain the procedure to patients, record any additional medical history the patient relates, select appropriate equipment settings, and change the patient’s position as necessary. Those who assist physicians in the diagnosis of disorders affecting the circulation are known as vascular technologists or vascular sonographers. They perform a medical history, evaluate pulses and assess blood flow in arteries and veins by listening to the vascular flow sounds for abnormalities. Then they perform a noninvasive procedure using ultrasound instrumentation to record vascular information such as vascular blood flow, blood pressure, changes in limb volume, oxygen saturation, cerebral circulation, peripheral circulation, and abdominal circulation. Many of these tests are performed during or immediately after surgery. CardioVascular technician who use ultrasound to examine the heart chambers, valves, and vessels are referred to as cardiac sonographers, or echocardiographers. They use ultrasound instrumentation to create images called echocardiograms. An echocardiogram may be performed while the patient is either resting or physically active. Technologists may administer medication to physically active patients to assess their heart function. CardioVascular technician also may assist physicians who perform transesophageal echocardiography, which involves placing a tube in the patient’s esophagus to obtain ultrasound images.