Cardiologist salaries are on the rise, with electrophysiologists leading the way

Electrophysiologists ($678,495) and interventional physicians ($674,910) are the highest-paid cardiologists, according to a new report from MedAxiom. When surgery is also included, integrated cardiac surgeons come out at top with an annual salary of $877,748.

The report also covered compensation for invasive cardiologists ($634,908), general non-invasive cardiologists ($599,718) and advanced heart failure physicians ($551,054). Across the board, compensation is up for cardiologists in 2019 in every part of the United States.

MedAxiom developed its 2020 Cardiovascular Provider Compensation and Production Survey using data from nearly 4,000 U.S. cardiovascular care providers, including full-time physicians, part-time physicians and advanced practice providers (APPs) such as physician assistants and registered nurses. Data was collected before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Other key findings include:

  • Cardiologists between the ages of 41 and 50 years old produce the most wRVUs per full-time equivalent (FTE), though cardiologists between the ages of 51 and 60 actually earn more per FTE.
  • Practices reported that three out of every 10 office visits represent a new patient.
  • Surgical compensation is up across the board in the last five years, highlighting “the very tight supply of these deeply subspecialized physicians.”
  • Cardiologists in integrated ownership models earn more than private physicians.
  • Discharge volumes are down, which the report’s authors believe may be due to elective PCI procedures moving to the ambulatory setting

The full report is available here as a download.

Michael Walter
Michael Walter, Managing Editor

Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.

Around the web

Several key trends were evident at the Radiological Society of North America 2024 meeting, including new CT and MR technology and evolving adoption of artificial intelligence.

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.