Therapy technician vs cardiovascular technician

The differences between therapy technicians and cardiovascular technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a cardiovascular technician has an average salary of $62,986, which is higher than the $28,943 average annual salary of a therapy technician.

The top three skills for a therapy technician include patients, rehabilitation and CPR. The most important skills for a cardiovascular technician are patients, BLS, and patient care.

Therapy technician vs cardiovascular technician overview

	Therapy Technician	Cardiovascular Technician
Yearly salary	$28,943	$62,986
Hourly rate	$13.91	$30.28
Growth rate	24%	10%
Number of jobs	36,360	37,036
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Associate Degree, 39%
Average age	43	45
Years of experience	-	2

What does a therapy technician do?

A therapy technician is responsible for supporting therapists in providing the highest quality care services for the patients, administering treatment plans, and guiding patients to full recovery. Therapy technicians also perform administrative duties, such as updating patients' information on the database, monitoring patients' condition, reviewing medical charts, processing payments for therapy procedures, and performing medical examinations under the supervision of medical professionals. They operate various therapy equipment, inspect the performance of the machinery, and ask for maintenance support for repairs or replacement as needed.

What does a cardiovascular technician do?

A cardiovascular technician is responsible for monitoring and administering treatment plans for patients with cardiovascular illnesses. Cardiovascular technicians operate various equipment and machinery to ensure the accuracy of diagnosis and determine the medical procedures to take. They also assist the doctors in performing medical operations, observing the patients' condition, and explaining the test findings to the patients. A cardiovascular technician keeps a record of medical charts for reference, as well as providing progress updates to the doctors and the patients' families.

Therapy technician vs cardiovascular technician salary

Therapy technicians and cardiovascular technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Therapy Technician	Cardiovascular Technician
Average salary	$28,943	$62,986
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $37,000	Between $43,000 And $91,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Davis, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Seattle Cancer Care Alliance	Heartland Home Health Inc.
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between therapy technician and cardiovascular technician education

There are a few differences between a therapy technician and a cardiovascular technician in terms of educational background:

	Therapy Technician	Cardiovascular Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Associate Degree, 39%
Most common major	Kinesiology	Medical Technician
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Duke University

Therapy technician vs cardiovascular technician demographics

Here are the differences between therapy technicians' and cardiovascular technicians' demographics:

	Therapy Technician	Cardiovascular Technician
Average age	43	45
Gender ratio	Male, 28.6% Female, 71.4%	Male, 35.5% Female, 64.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.5% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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 therapy technician and cardiovascular technician duties and responsibilities

Therapy technician example responsibilities.

Perform basic living care for patients and assist with exercises under supervision of a rehabilitation team member.
Provide patient assistance with rehabilitation protocol with appropriate education and technique while monitoring vital signs and effects of treatment.
Direct patients to need areas with crutches, wheel chairs, walkers, canes etc.
Work with the physical and occupational therapists to guide patients through prescribe exercise program efficiently and safely.
Prepare materials for assessments and provide assistance to individuals through hands-on methods and direct contact observations by assisting the rehabilitation supervisor.
Attend professional development workshops in augmentative communication devices, sign language, and skill integration.

Cardiovascular technician example responsibilities.

Assist with placement and manage intra-aortic balloon pumps.
Certify in CPR and ACLS.
Scrub and monitor implant and EP Carto and basic ablation procedures.
Collect data with a GPS handheld receiver and map it in the office using GIS.
Provide continuous ECG and blood pressure monitoring for secondary medical cardiac beds as a cardiopulmonary monitor technician.
Perform hook-up and scanning of holter monitors.

Therapy technician vs cardiovascular technician skills

Common therapy technician skills

Patients, 23%
Rehabilitation, 14%
CPR, 8%
Patient Safety, 6%
Occupational Therapy, 5%
Physical Therapy, 5%

Common cardiovascular technician skills

Patients, 19%
BLS, 12%
Patient Care, 10%
Acls, 8%
Cardiovascular Technologist, 5%
Cardiology, 4%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Therapy Technician
Therapy Technician vs Cardiovascular Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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