“What is the difference between a cardiologist and cardiothoracic surgeon?”

It’s a very good question that confuse many people, including health reporters and even the hospital CEO. Although they have common grounds they are trained through totally different programs after medical school. The cardiologists are internal medicine doctors specialists in cardiovascular conditions. They don’t open patients. The cardiothoracic surgeon are surgeons specialists in the heart and other thoracic conditions. The surgeons are the only physicians trained and certified to open the patients’ chests. Some surgeons are also trained in minimally invasive procedures, endoscopic procedures, and catheter related procedures. The cardiologists and other sub-specialists of internal medicine are trained for diagnosis and treatments with “no-surgical” options and some are trained in interventions with devices placed with catheters or endoscopes. For example, a coronary stent is placed by a cardiologist with a catheter intervention, that is not a surgery. The coronary bypasses, the heart valves replacements, and a removal of a lung tumor are done by the cardiothoracic surgeons.
I hope this help.

Eugenio Mulero-Portela, M.D., FACS

Surgeons do surgery on the heart and cardiologists do not operate.

Cardiologist does not do open heart surgery

A cardiothoracic surgeon performs the invasive procedures such as coronary bypass surgery and valve replacement or repair. A cardiologist performs the diagnostic procedures but also performs percutaneous procedures such as placing stents for coronary artery disease.

Cardiologists diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease with medicines and interventional cardiologists perform cardiac angiograms and stents. Cardiothoracic surgeons operate. They do valve replacements and Coronary artery bypass grafts.

Cardiologists help with the diagnosis and treatment of medical problems related to the heart. They can also do procedures like cardiac caths, PCI (stents), etc.
Cardiothoracic surgeons help with the surgical treatment of diseases of the heart, lungs, and esophagus. Cardiologists will refer them patients that need CABG, valve procedures, etc.

A cardiologist has done a residency in internal medicine and sub specialized in diseases of the heart. They can do certain procedures such as stents, but cannot operate (i.e., cannot do open heart surgery). A cardiothoracic surgeon trains first in general surgery then sub specializes in heart, lung and esophageal surgery. We as surgeons do open heart surgery. Hope this helps.

Cardiologists manage and control heart disease. They prescribe medicine and order tests to evaluate the patient. Some, called interventional cardiologists, actually do cardiac catheterizations by going into the arteries and using dye to visualize the arteries around the heart. If narrowed they can "balloon" them open or place a "stent" to prop open the artery. In some cases, they refer the patient to a surgeon. This is the cardiothoracic surgeon. They actually cut open the chest to do cardiac bypass surgery.
They then manage the patient until out of the hospital, at which time the cardiologist takes back over long-term management.

Cardiologists diagnose and treat heart disease, such as stent placement in the heart arteries or medical treatment of heart disease. Cardiothoracic surgeons deal with surgical aspect of heart disease, such as bypass surgery and heart valve replacement.

Surgeon uses a knife