Up till what age does a cardiologist usually work?

[Dr Wings]

Up to what age do cardiologists usually work till?

Do they retire in their sixties or can a good cardiologist still work until his 80's?

What about an interventional cardiologist. When will he/she usually give up interventional work and just continue with non-invasive work?

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[Chalazion12]

a million

 

[Dr Wings]

Thanks for the optimism !

It would be great if we had that ability...

But seriously, I would like to know if I went into cardiology whether or not my work ability would decrease with age like that of a surgeon.

Does one need the same stability in ones hands when performing invasive techniques in cardiology like that of a surgeon.

 

[Myostatin]

I have not seen any interventional cardiologists working past their late 60s. Like surgery, fine motor / visual abilities are required. Unlike surgery, interventionalists also have to wear lead for ~10 hrs a day, which commonly leads to orthopaedic problems. Beauty of it is that you can still always do general cards or IM if you want to keep working.

 

[drdavemd]

I've met people who worked their butts off then burned out and retired after working 20 years, people who spent 20-30 in private practice and then rejoin academics to drop the hassles of running an office, people who are retired and stay on half time to run teaching services, and people who cut back their practices to focus on second careers or advocacy/professional organizational work.

Plenty of options out there, but I would agree that I don't know any interventionalists still cathing over age 60 or so.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

I think this particular cardiologist is still practicing at least academically

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Braunwald
well he might be an exception but you probably get my point

 

[EPADHA]

i think Dr Holmes at Mayo is still doing interventions.. He is very well in his 60s. But that is quite an exception.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/10172475.html

 

[doctorold]

Very sorry to bring this back from the dead. But If I want to do interventional cardiology, and say I will be done with my training when I'm, say 51 or 52, for how long should I realistically expect to work as an interventional cardiologist, before switching back to general office cardiology? is 65 realistic or maybe just 60?

 

[doctorold]

I mean, would it worth at that age to pursue interventional cardio?

 

[MrTee]

I mean, would it worth at that age to pursue interventional cardio?

It's a highly individual decision, but for most people, the answer is no. By the time you hit pgy5-6 (and many times to do int cards you're talking about doing 8 years after med school), you realize that it's a long haul. Interventional lifestyle also kinda sucks, being on stemi call possibly very frequently depending on the kind of practice you join.

 

[EPADHA]

The imagers (echo people) tend to outwork everyone (based on an n of 5 practices and 3 academic medical centers I have seen). I know people who read or are still reading echoes well in to late 70s.

 

[EPADHA]

The cath people also age a bit faster and I have noticed cognitive decline in few of them when they were in 60s- this does not prove causation; cd be just an epiphenomenon.

 

[Trifling Jester]

Very sorry to bring this back from the dead. But If I want to do interventional cardiology, and say I will be done with my training when I'm, say 51 or 52, for how long should I realistically expect to work as an interventional cardiologist, before switching back to general office cardiology? is 65 realistic or maybe just 60?

You could work for as long as you wanted, provided you are in the right situation. Many places will expect you to take STEMI call if you're cathing in their lab, but not all, and there are some labs that are only open during the daytime M-F, and ship their STEMIs out to other facilities after hours, so that's an option too. Realistically most guys in their 60's start slowing down, cutting back on call, seeing less of their inpatients, and turning over their caths to their younger colleagues. The plus side of it is that you can still read echos, stresses etc. At least, this is what I've seen. Others may have had a different experience.

 

[doctorold]

The imagers (echo people) tend to outwork everyone (based on an n of 5 practices and 3 academic medical centers I have seen). I know people who read or are still reading echoes well in to late 70s.

Do they have a good/better lifestyle compared to interventional? what about $$$?

 

[MrTee]

Do they have a good/better lifestyle compared to interventional? what about $$$?

It all depends on your situation. If you go into an academics, you'd have a much better lifestyle than if you are at a place without fellows. Of course your pay will be a bit lower as well. This goes for both interventional and noninterventional. Granted to stay at that job, you will be expected to do research and publish.

Noninvasive guys can make as much as interventional guys by seeing more patients and reading more studies, it depends how hard you want to work. I would not go into cardiology if you want to have a good lifestyle, unless you can create a boutique practice where you only see outpatients and can send your patients elsewhere when they get hospitalized.

 

[doctorold]

Thanks MrTee