Cardiac C

are
Nurse

Cardiac, or cardiovascular, nurses are often

specialized advanced practice registered nurses,
who work alongside cardiologists and other
healthcare providers to provide comprehensive
cardiovascular care for patients with acute and
chronic heart maladies.

Cardiac nurses possess a

high level of education and
experience that allows them
to diagnose, treat, and
manage conditions that
affect the complex
cardiovascular system.
They work to promote
optimal cardiovascular
health among clients
through preventative
measures that involve
health counseling,
screening, and stress tests,
as well as disease
prevention and
management strategies.

Although cardiac nurses are traditionally

employed in hospital cardiology units,
cardiovascular interventional units, and
cardiothoracic surgical units, the need for
cardiac nurses in diagnostic, rehabilitative, and
long-term care settings is also on the rise.

Cardiac nurses also serve vital roles in a

number of cardiology specific medical
settings:
0 Cardiac Catheterization Labs Some cardiac

nurses may focus their education on cardiac

catheterization and hold the designation of a
cardiac cath lab (CCL) nurse.
0 Telemetry Care Telemetry care involves
monitoring a patients vital signs using
advanced equipment, such as
electrocardiograms.

0 Electrophysiology Labs In electrophysiology

labs, cardiac care nurses work in

collaboration with cardiologists to diagnose
the causes of arrhythmias and offer
interventional treatment that may involve
pacemakers, ablation, and medications.

Cardiac nurses are

qualified to provide
cardiac care to patients
across the lifespan,
which may include
newborns with heart
defects or elderly
patients with advanced
stage heart disease.

They also provide a wide range of services,

which may include:
0 Managing hypertension, congestive heart

failure, arrhythmias and other heart

conditions
0 Evaluating and monitoring heart devices,
such as pacemakers and defibrillators
0 Performing a wide variety of cardiac tests,
including stress tests, stress
echocardiograms, exercise stress tests,
PET/dipyridamole stress tests, and CT
coronary angiograms

0 Providing physical exams so as to diagnose

chronic and acute cardiac diseases

0 Interpreting laboratory results or cardiac tests
0 Prescribing and managing cardiac
medications and other therapies
0 Educating patients on health maintenance
and disease prevention

Educational
Requirements
0 A cardiac nurse is an advanced practice

nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist

who possesses a graduate-level degree in
nursing. Many cardiac nurses possess
masters degrees in nursing and then go on
to receive a post-masters certificate in their
cardiovascular specialty

Cardiac/Cardiovascular
Nursing Salary Expectations
0 According to Advance for NPs and

PAsNational Salary Report 2011, the average

salary for a nurse practitioner was $90,583 in
2011, while the average salary for a nurse
practitioner in a cardiology clinic or unit was
$90,370.