The Commission on the Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) is the governing body that accredits cardiac ultrasound training programs.
According the CAAHEP, there are currently 61 accredited community colleges, technical institutes and universities that provide cardiac ultrasound training. Depending on the credential, training is one-to-four years in duration. Certificates, associate's degree and bachelor's degree are available.
Candidates should hold a high school diploma or GED. Prerequisite coursework in biology, chemistry, medical terminology, physics and math at the high school- or college-level is generally required.
Training in cardiac ultrasound typically includes coursework in the physics and instrumentation of ultrasound technology, patient care skills, medical ethics, cardiovascular anatomy, imaging critique and interpretation, adult and pediatric ultrasound, vascular sonography and cardiac pathophysiology.
To seek employment as a cardiac ultrasound technician, you must pass an examination in sonography principles and instrumentation followed by specialty testing in adult, fetal or pediatric echocardiography. The designation Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS) is subsequently awarded.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor finds that employment of well-trained cardiac ultrasound technologists and technicians will increase by 24 percent through 2018. As of 2010, the average annual income of a diagnostic medical sonographer was $61,980.