Why is cardio so popular? is it only the interventional aspect?

[eutychus]

hi, i know that cardio is pretty much the most competetive fellowship to get. i was just wondering why. is it the interventional aspect or do a lot of people want to do non-interventional? thanks!

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[novacek88]

For many fellows, it's only another year to become an interventionalist. As an interventionalist, they have the opportunity to earn more money, have fun doing procedures and become more marketable in general than the non-interventionalists. Although, the trend has now switched and non-interventional cardiologists are in demand since so many cardiologists want to become interventionalists. They need cardiologists who want to focus on the clinical outpatient aspect of the field.

 

[JurgenK]

There are multiple financially well-rewarded avenues in this specialty.

Like Novacek said, non-invasive people are paid fairly well too, and in a multiperson practice share the profits proportionally with those who do high value procedures.

But electrophysiologists are becoming as well paid or better paid than some interventionalists (starting salaries >500K in private practice, often, depending on the market area). and imaging folks have always done well in high volume markets where they can read a lot of echoes or nuclear studies (>300k very often).

But the real reason the do cardiology is because you love the physiology: the fact that what you hear in your stethoscope, and judge with your clinical skills makes a difference, sometimes in the immediate care of very sick folks.
And these skills are augmented, but not replaced, by the objective tests and procedures you're equipped to do as a cardiologist, i.e., echo, cath, ep studies. And then you're empowered to fix these things w/ PCI, ablation, pacers, ICDs...