Cardiac catheterization technician vs ekg technician

The differences between cardiac catheterization technicians and ekg technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a cardiac catheterization technician and an ekg technician. Additionally, a cardiac catheterization technician has an average salary of $56,111, which is higher than the $35,160 average annual salary of an ekg technician.

The top three skills for a cardiac catheterization technician include BLS, acls and cath lab. The most important skills for an ekg technician are patients, BLS, and patient care.

Cardiac catheterization technician vs ekg technician overview

	Cardiac Catheterization Technician	EKG Technician
Yearly salary	$56,111	$35,160
Hourly rate	$26.98	$16.90
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	15,949	52,679
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 27%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

Cardiac catheterization technician vs ekg technician salary

Cardiac catheterization technicians and ekg technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cardiac Catheterization Technician	EKG Technician
Average salary	$56,111	$35,160
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $103,000	Between $28,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	-	Springfield, OR
Highest paying state	-	North Dakota
Best paying company	-	UC Merced
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between cardiac catheterization technician and ekg technician education

There are a few differences between a cardiac catheterization technician and an ekg technician in terms of educational background:

	Cardiac Catheterization Technician	EKG Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 27%
Most common major	Medical Technician	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	University of Southern California	Emory University

Cardiac catheterization technician vs ekg technician demographics

Here are the differences between cardiac catheterization technicians' and ekg technicians' demographics:

	Cardiac Catheterization Technician	EKG Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0%	Male, 23.5% Female, 76.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 13.9% White, 58.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 13.9% White, 58.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between cardiac catheterization technician and ekg technician duties and responsibilities

Cardiac catheterization technician example responsibilities.

Assist with placement and manage intra-aortic balloon pumps.
Monitor patient's blood pressure and heart rate with EKG equipment and notify the physician of possible irregularities.
Assist physician during balloon angioplasty by inflating the balloon catheter to the specified atmospheres with a special handheld syringe pump.
Utilize escalation process to notify appropriate staff when communication barriers are occurring between the CMU and nursing unit for arrhythmia notification.
Work at multiple boat launches with the decontamination unit to pressure wash all infest boats and educate boaters.
Perform programmed stimulation, cardioversion, defibrillation and radiofrequency lesion generation.

Ekg technician example responsibilities.

Assist with placement and manage intra-aortic balloon pumps.
Monitor patients' blood pressure and heart rate using electrocardiogram equipment during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
Assist physicians during codes by performing the ECG's and assisting with CPR.
Perform EKG and EEG examinations of patients to obtain graphic indications of heart activity
Conduct electrocardiogram and other cardiovascular tests to record patients' cardiac activity using specialize electronic test equipment and recording devices.
Obtain ECG records of events; assist emergency situations by initiating and/or assisting in emergency procedures prescribe by hospital policies.

Cardiac catheterization technician vs ekg technician skills

Common cardiac catheterization technician skills

BLS, 19%
Acls, 15%
Cath Lab, 10%
RCIS, 9%
Cardiac Catheterization, 9%
Vital Signs, 7%

Common ekg technician skills

Patients, 24%
BLS, 9%
Patient Care, 7%
Electrocardiogram, 5%
CPR, 4%
ECG, 3%

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Cardiac Catheterization Technician
Cardiac Catheterization Technician vs EKG Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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