Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians
Conduct tests on pulmonary or cardiovascular systems of patients for diagnostic, therapeutic, or research purposes. May conduct or assist in electrocardiograms, cardiac catheterizations, pulmonary functions, lung capacity, and similar tests.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Medicine and Dentistry
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Education and Training
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
- Administrative
What the work involves
- Monitor patients' blood pressure and heart rate using electrocardiogram (EKG) equipment during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures to notify the physician if something appears wrong.
- Monitor patients' comfort and safety during tests, alerting physicians to abnormalities or changes in patient responses.
- Explain testing procedures to patients to obtain cooperation and reduce anxiety.
- Conduct electrocardiogram (EKG), phonocardiogram, echocardiogram, stress testing, or other cardiovascular tests to record patients' cardiac activity, using specialized electronic test equipment, recording devices, or laboratory instruments.
- Prepare and position patients for testing.
- Obtain and record patient identification, medical history, or test results.
- Attach electrodes to the patients' chests, arms, and legs, connect electrodes to leads from the electrocardiogram (EKG) machine, and operate the EKG machine to obtain a reading.
- Adjust equipment and controls according to physicians' orders or established protocol.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Investigative, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (62.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (38.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (28.1%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 95% of occupations compared | 94% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 81% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 84% of occupations compared | 80% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 71% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 82% of occupations compared | 72% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 81% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 89% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 82% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 5.73%
- Constant contact with others: 94.27%
n = 35, Incumbent 07/2014
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 8.59%
- Fairly important: 4.16%
- Important: 8.79%
- Very important: 13.09%
- Extremely important: 65.38%
n = 35, Incumbent 07/2014
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0.34%
- Fairly important: 7.05%
- Important: 0.34%
- Very important: 12.7%
- Extremely important: 79.57%
n = 35, Incumbent 07/2014
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 9.53%
- Very little freedom: 8.3%
- Limited freedom: 7.46%
- Some freedom: 32.28%
- A lot of freedom: 42.42%
n = 35, Incumbent 07/2014
Time pressure
- Never: 7.46%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 7.71%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 4.85%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 7.75%
- Every day: 72.23%
n = 34, Incumbent 07/2014
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 13.55%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 39.64%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 42.54%
- Every day: 4.27%
n = 35, Incumbent 07/2014
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 10.59%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 24.45%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 46.63%
- Every day: 18.33%
n = 35, Incumbent 07/2014
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 8.93%
- Fairly serious: 20.78%
- Serious: 6.99%
- Very serious: 11.34%
- Extremely serious: 51.96%
n = 35, Incumbent 07/2014
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O*NET-SOC 29-2031.00 · SOC 29-2031 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8