The Profession

Echocardiography (echo) is the use of ultrasound to assess the anatomy of the heart and blood vessels. A diagnostic medical sonographer specifically trained in echocardiography is an echocardiographer or cardiac sonographer.  A cardiac sonographer performs approximately six echoes per day on patients. Findings are reported to the physician in charge and patient data is entered in the computer system. A typical day involves reviewing the patient's history, performing the echo examination along with blood pressure, and presenting the echo findings to the physician and other allied health staff. Cardiac sonographers also help teach other student sonographers and medical residents-in-training and are expected to continually learn new technology and disease processes.

Cardiac sonographers may be employed in hospitals, clinics, private offices, and industry. Most full-time sonographers work about 40 hours a week and may have evening and weekend hours and times when they are on call and must be ready to report to work on short notice.

The demand for cardiac sonographers continues to exceed the supply with faster than average job growth anticipated. The supply and demand ratio affects salaries, depending on experience and responsibilities. On average, diagnostic medical sonographers (echocardiographers are classified in this category) earn an annual salary of $69,617 per year (data from 2011 www.iSEEK.org).