A cardiac surgeon is a medical doctor who has advanced education and training in performing surgery on the heart and the major blood vessels around it. They may belong to different specialties or may choose to specialize in certain types of heart procedures, such as procedures done on children.
A cardiac surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery on the heart and the major blood vessels around it. There are several different medical specialties that a cardiac surgeon may fall under, some of which have overlapping areas of focus.
Cardiac surgery is any kind of surgical procedure performed on your heart or any related blood vessels near where they connect to the heart. In some cases, these surgeries may involve the tissues or structures immediately next to the heart.
Advertisement
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
Cardiac surgeons typically fall into two professional specialties. While there are many similarities and overlaps in their practice, a few differences are big enough to group them differently.
Sometimes called a cardiothoracic surgeon or a general thoracic surgeon, this specialty gets its name from the Greek word for "chest." As the name suggests, cardiothoracic surgeons specialize in surgeries on most organs and tissues found in the chest. This can include surgeries on the heart and connected major blood vessels, the lungs, esophagus (which connects your mouth to your stomach) and trachea (windpipe). Some thoracic surgeons may choose to only focus on conditions involving the heart, pericardium (a sac around the heart) and major blood vessels of the heart. Others may choose to focus on other conditions excluding the heart and major blood vessels.
A congenital or pediatric heart surgeon focuses on repairing structural problems or anomalies that a person has when they're born. This can include problems with heart valves, holes in the walls between the heart's chambers, and more.
While some surgeons focus on doing these surgeries in adults — as it is not uncommon that a congenital heart problem diagnosis happens when someone is an adult — others specialize in these surgeries on children, infants and newborns. Their practice is extremely specialized and there are very pediatric heart surgeons compared to those who practice only on adults.
The amount of education and training that all cardiac surgeons must receive is enormous, taking at least 15 years in total. For those who choose to go into a particular heart surgery specialty, it can take more than 20 years.
Education/training type | Time spent (in years) - Cardiac surgeon | Time spent (in years) - Congenital or pediatric cardiac surgeon |
---|---|---|
College (undergrad) | 4 | 4 |
Medical school | 4 | 4 |
General surgery residency | 5 | 6-ICTSR | 5 | 6-ICTSR |
Cardiothoracic surgery residency | 2-3 | 6-ICTSR | 2-3 | 6-ICTSR |
Fellowship training | Optional | 1 |
Total | 15-19 | 16-20 |
Education/training type | ||
College (undergrad) | ||
Time spent (in years) - Cardiac surgeon | ||
4 | ||
Time spent (in years) - Congenital or pediatric cardiac surgeon | ||
4 | ||
Medical school | ||
Time spent (in years) - Cardiac surgeon | ||
4 | ||
Time spent (in years) - Congenital or pediatric cardiac surgeon | ||
4 | ||
General surgery residency | ||
Time spent (in years) - Cardiac surgeon | ||
5 | 6-ICTSR | ||
Time spent (in years) - Congenital or pediatric cardiac surgeon | ||
5 | 6-ICTSR | ||
Cardiothoracic surgery residency | ||
Time spent (in years) - Cardiac surgeon | ||
2-3 | 6-ICTSR | ||
Time spent (in years) - Congenital or pediatric cardiac surgeon | ||
2-3 | 6-ICTSR | ||
Fellowship training | ||
Time spent (in years) - Cardiac surgeon | ||
Optional | ||
Time spent (in years) - Congenital or pediatric cardiac surgeon | ||
1 | ||
Total | ||
Time spent (in years) - Cardiac surgeon | ||
15-19 | ||
Time spent (in years) - Congenital or pediatric cardiac surgeon | ||
16-20 |
All cardiac surgeons must do the following:
They then must choose one of the following:
For those who choose to be congenital heart surgeons, they must also do a one-year fellowship.
Advertisement
Cardiac surgeons can treat any disease, condition or injury that requires surgery to repair or correct. This can include anything from trauma — like from a car crash, stab wound or gunshot — to correcting heart damage from a disease or a condition a person had when they were born. Some of the most common conditions that require a cardiac surgeon include:
Cardiac surgeons perform a wide range of surgeries and procedures. Some of the most common include:
Surgeons often train in multiple methods of performing the same type of surgery. This can include surgeries that are:
Advertisement
A cardiac surgeon isn’t just responsible for performing surgeries. Their duties often include — but aren’t limited to — the following:
Heart surgery is typically a very serious procedure. It is most often done when there are no better alternatives — meaning no other procedure is as safe and likely to help you.
In many cases, you’ll have time in advance to learn about the type of heart surgery you’ll need, what to expect, how to prepare and more.
In rarer emergency cases, you may need immediate heart surgery without any delay. In those instances, a surgeon will talk to your family, loved ones or any person who can speak and make medical decisions for you. The surgeon will do all they can to help your loved ones understand what is happening, why you need surgery and what to expect.
Yes, seeing a cardiac surgeon almost always takes a referral. That referral will most likely come from a cardiologist or some other specialist. This is almost always the case because another specialist or physician would first have to identify a condition or problem that needs surgery. In emergency cases, an attending physician or specialist can consult an on-call cardiac surgeon and ask them to assess your condition, recommend options and suggest the best possible procedures or approaches to treating you.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Needing heart surgery can be an intimidating, even frightening, situation to face. Fortunately, you won't be facing it alone. Behind every patient who needs heart surgery is a team of healthcare providers and professionals, ranging from technicians and support staff to nurses, specialist physicians and surgeons. To become a heart surgeon takes an enormous commitment, and it is a demanding profession, with only the best achieving this title. That means you’ll have a huge number of talented, trained, educated and diligent medical professionals doing everything they can to help you recover and return to your life.
Last reviewed on 09/29/2021.
Learn more about the Health Library and our editorial process.
Advertisement
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy