Technology is changing the field of healthcare with groundbreaking new procedures, and one of the areas that is experiencing exciting advancements is in cardiology. From stents that change shapes and respond to a patient’s body to 3-D printed hearts that may someday lessen the demand for transplants, cardiologists are saving lives in ways once never thought possible. Helping them complete these amazing procedures are Cardiovascular Technologists (CVT).
The Job of a CVT
CVTs play a vital role in healthcare, performing tests that diagnose and treat heart disease. They also handle tasks in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory such as:
- Preparing patients for procedures.
- Connecting patients to the monitoring equipment.
- Assisting Cardiologists during all procedures in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab.
- Operating equipment including the EKG, C-arm and indeflator – a syringe that inflates balloons and stents that are implanted in arteries.
- Handling wires and catheters being placed in the patient’s arteries by the Cardiologist.
- Injecting contrast media into the patient which allows arteries to be viewed on the monitor.
- Assisting with the implantation of ICDs and pacemakers.
- Performing CPR if a patient goes into cardiac arrest.
- Assisting with the access site closure.
CVTs are employed in Cardiac Catheterization Labs in hospitals and outpatient specialty centers. The job can be demanding; a cardiovascular technologist usually work 40+-hour weeks, and they may take emergency calls. But this career can be extremely rewarding as CVTs make a difference in the care of patients. CVTs get a chance to provide hands-on care and, because the job is fast-paced, every day can be exciting and different.
“I wouldn't have my career without the education I got here at Fortis,” said Tracy, a graduate of the CVT program at FORTIS. “As far as my personal life, financially I'm in a better place than I've ever been. I'm more confident in myself [and] I feel like I can accomplish things that I couldn't accomplish in the past. I'm much happier than I was before, providing a better life for [my husband and children] is definitely something that influenced a lot of the decisions that I made coming here.
Does the sound of becoming a CVT make your heart beat faster? Earn your Associate Degree and prepare for your Cardiovascular Technologist certification by enrolling in the Cardiovascular Technologist Program at Fortis Institute Nashville campus.