To begin your career as a cardiologist, you first need a bachelor's degree in pre-med. You'll have to complete a full year worth of biology classes which focus on general principles, cell biology and physiology. Classes such as genetics, zoology, botany and parasitology would fulfill this requirement. These classes also include laboratory coursework so you gain hands on experience. You'll take courses in chemistry, needing a full year of chemistry classes such as biochemistry, as well as a year of just organic chemistry classes. Since science and medicine require the use of advanced math, you need to take a full year of physic classes based on trigonometry or calculus.
Since getting into medical school is highly competitive, the University of Minnesota recommends that its pre-med undergraduate students also take additional classes to make themselves more viable to potential medical schools. Classes in ethics, psychology, statistics and foreign languages will help prepare you for medical school. You should also enroll in seminar-styled classes that emphasize small group discussion.
Once you're accepted into medical school, you will take more science classes. Gross anatomy classes teach you about the human body, everything from cranial nerves to the muscles of the eye. These classes will also include a lab where you'll dissect a human cadaver. In histology classes you study the cells of the human body by looking at them under a microscope. Your pathology classes teach you about diseases, while your biochemistry classes consist of memorizing knowledge such as Kreb's cycle.
Your residency consists of hands-on learning in a medical facility. During this period of your training you'll focus on your specialty--cardiology. Your first two years of residency include rotations in different aspects of cardiology. You'll learn about ECG interpretation, exercise testing, echocardiography and nuclear cardiology in the cardiac noninvasive laboratory. Your rotations will also give you experience in inpatient and outpatient consultation. In your third year of residency you decide which aspect of cardiology you'd like to pursue in depth, such as pediatric cardiology or cardiac surgery.