EP vs Interventional

[DarkProtonics]

I'm a community college student who is strongly interested in becoming a doctor, particulalry a cardiologist. My question is, how does EP differ from interventional cardiology, besides the fact they treat different issues? What makes them interesting? What's the lifestyle, compensation, and demand? Are there any emergencies? Why are EPs considered to forget everything else they know, like orthopedic surgeons? Is EP and interventional cardiology kind of like interventional radiology? Do EPs ever work together w/ interventional cardiologists? Do interventional cardiologists and EPs ever do work outside of the cath/EP lab, besides rounds? Do interventional cardiologists and EPs have to have a cardiac surgeon standby, in case of complications?

Btw, what does an EKG of a re-entrant arrhythmia look like? How do EPs figure out where an arrhythmia is coming from on that monitor w/ the colored map on it --an electroanatomical map?--, in a nutshell?

Thanks!!!

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[MacSooner]

Thats alot of questions, man.
I have a little insight, but I have some of the same questions you do.

1. EPs do invasive procedures that deal with electrical problems with the heart, like ablations of WPW, etc... while interventional cards deal with coronary artery disease, so they do more vascular imaging and stents.

2. consequently, eps do less emergent procedures, because interventionals treat MIs.

EP is still a job that is foreign to me, but sounds appealing. It seems like they do scheduled procedures, working 10-14 hr days with call 1x/wk at most. i dont know how many spots there are every year, though, and I don't know how cmpetetive it is, but I would like to know

 

[dragonfly99]

Interventional is the most competitive of the subspecialty fellowships of cardiology (EP, plus a noninvasive imaging or CHF fellowship, where they exist, would be easier to get than an interventional fellowship). EP fellowships used to be easy to get, but are getting harder to get, from what I've heard. The main reason it's getting harder is probably because
a) treatments available are getting better and cooler (the EP docs used to just have toxic drugs, but now they have cool devices to implant, that actually work well!).
b) money. People think they are going to rake in the cash by implanting defibrillators in people, and the lifestyle (i.e. middle of the night calls to come in to hospital) are more uncommon in EP than interventional cards.

Neither one of these is an easy lifestyle.

I'm not sure what they get paid, but I think for EP and interventional it would be 200's-300's per year. A lot depends on where you live/what state/private practice vs. academics.

I don't think interventional radiology is very similar to any cardiology subspecialty. Certainly not similar to electrophysiology. Some interventional radiologists may have some overlap in the procedures they perform vs. the procedures an interventional cardiologist performs (i.e. both might stent open a blocked renal artery...but I'm actually not sure if interventional radiology does that procedure).