Cardiology compensation climbs again—general cardiologists, electrophysiologists see biggest 2026 jumps
Compensation is up big for cardiologists in the United States, according to a new analysis from consulting firm SullivanCotter. This is yet another sign that pay is climbing more and more for cardiovascular health clinicians as time goes on.
The 2026 Physician Compensation and Productivity Survey was built using data from 575 healthcare organizations representing approximately 235,000 physicians. It focused on both physician total cash compensation (TCC), a combination of fixed salary and any other cash incentives, and work relative value units (wRVU) productivity across 240 healthcare specialties.
According to the report, compensation has increased significantly in the last 12 months for general cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, vascular surgeons and advanced heart failure specialists.
Median total cash compensation for cardiology subspecialties in 2026:
- $608,633 for general cardiologists
- $766,372 for interventional cardiologists
- $787,304 for electrophysiologists
- $630,325 for vascular surgeons
- $536,772 for advanced heart failure specialists
The year-over-year increases in median TCC were 8.7% for general cardiology, 0.4% for interventional cardiology, 7.6% for electrophysiology, 6% for vascular surgery and 3.6% for advanced heart failure specialists. That year-over-year difference may be small for interventionalists, but median TCC for the specialty jumped a whopping 10.8% the previous year, a respectable two-year difference.
The report also provides a more long-term look at this trend by delivering TCC data from the last five years. The five-year improvements in compensation for each specialty were 23.8% for general cardiology, 23.4% for interventional cardiology, 23.5% for electrophysiology, 24.9% for vascular surgery and 5.9% for advanced heart failure specialists.
When it came to year-over-year changes in median wRVUs, cardiologists saw smaller increases. For advanced heart failure specialists, in fact, median wRVUs dropped nearly 4%.
Long-term trends put a spotlight on cardiology’s competitive side
A quick look at three-year trends for both median TCC and median wRVUs shows that compensation appears to be outpacing productivity for cardiovascular clinicians. What, exactly, does this mean?
“We continue to see upward pressure on cardiology compensation across most subspecialties,” Ted Tackett, a principal with SullivanCotter, told Cardiovascular Business. “One of the more notable trends in this year’s data is that compensation growth is outpacing growth in physician productivity. That points to a highly competitive market for cardiology talent, with organizations having to respond not only to workload and production, but also to broader recruitment and retention pressures.”
Click here for additional details from SullivanCotter, including information on how to secure the complete report.
Two other recent looks at cardiologist compensation are available here and here.
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.