Echo technician vs invasive cardiovascular technologist

The differences between echo technicians and invasive cardiovascular technologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an echo technician and an invasive cardiovascular technologist. Additionally, an echo technician has an average salary of $75,952, which is higher than the $49,294 average annual salary of an invasive cardiovascular technologist.

The top three skills for an echo technician include patients, BLS and echocardiography. The most important skills for an invasive cardiovascular technologist are patients, BLS, and EKG.

Echo technician vs invasive cardiovascular technologist overview

	Echo Technician	Invasive Cardiovascular Technologist
Yearly salary	$75,952	$49,294
Hourly rate	$36.52	$23.70
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	14,522	49,408
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

What does an echo technician do?

An echo technician is responsible for operating specialized equipment to develop ultrasound images of patients' hearts, diagnosing possible illnesses, and monitoring their conditions. Echo technicians carefully explain the process to the patients, assist the physicians in data interpretation, and ensuring that the image document was stored and developed properly for reference. They also inspect the machine and equipment's efficiency for operations and immediately call for repairs for any defects and malfunctions that may cause inaccuracies in the results.

What does an invasive cardiovascular technologist do?

An invasive cardiovascular technologist is responsible for assisting the cardiovascular doctors and giving care to the patients. They prepare all needed machines, equipment, or tools, and they also prepare patients for procedures. They need to continually monitor patients before, during, and after an operation. They also assist the doctor with tasks such as handling tools.

Echo technician vs invasive cardiovascular technologist salary

Echo technicians and invasive cardiovascular technologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Echo Technician	Invasive Cardiovascular Technologist
Average salary	$75,952	$49,294
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $117,000	Between $25,000 And $96,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, OR	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	University of Maryland Medical System	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between echo technician and invasive cardiovascular technologist education

There are a few differences between an echo technician and an invasive cardiovascular technologist in terms of educational background:

	Echo Technician	Invasive Cardiovascular Technologist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Medical Technician	Medical Technician
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Echo technician vs invasive cardiovascular technologist demographics

Here are the differences between echo technicians' and invasive cardiovascular technologists' demographics:

	Echo Technician	Invasive Cardiovascular Technologist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 32.4% Female, 67.6%	Male, 52.8% Female, 47.2%
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 echo technician and invasive cardiovascular technologist duties and responsibilities

Echo technician example responsibilities.

Assist with placement and manage intra-aortic balloon pumps.
Perform cardiac defibrillation, CPR, and initiate invasive procedures on patients in cardiac arrest.
Utilize 2D , 3D, m-mode, and color Doppler.
Perform EKG's and treadmill stress testing.
Perform stress echo's, dobutamine stress echo's and bubble studies.
Assist physician with echo stress tests as well as treadmill only studies.

Invasive cardiovascular technologist example responsibilities.

Assist with placement and manage intra-aortic balloon pumps.
Perform ECG s, track vitals, monitor hemodynamics and first assist during procedures.
Prepare and position patients for invasive procedures.
Prepare patients mentally and physically for the diagnostic testing by giving the correct procedural information.
Develop quality control program including statistical analysis and quality assurance reporting meeting JCAHO standards; function as QC coordinator.
Assist in laser seminars and lectures present to visiting faculty and physicians from the breadth of the Americas.

Echo technician vs invasive cardiovascular technologist skills

Common echo technician skills

Patients, 19%
BLS, 10%
Echocardiography, 10%
Echocardiogram, 9%
Patient Care, 8%
Cardiology, 6%

Common invasive cardiovascular technologist skills

Patients, 21%
BLS, 11%
EKG, 7%
Electrocardiogram, 7%
Patient Care, 6%
RCIS, 6%

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Echo Technician
Echo Technician vs Invasive Cardiovascular Technologist

Updated January 8, 2025

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