Noninvasive Echocardiography is an allied health profession specifically concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cardiac disease using imaging technologies. The noninvasive cardiovascular technologist works with physicians in the hospital, office, clinic or mobile outreach laboratory to evaluate and diagnose heart patients.

Noninvasive cardiology is one of the techniques of cardiovascular diagnosis requiring the greatest skill and expertise to gain information through the use of high-energy sound waves. The technologist makes adjustments in the imaging equipment to bring out the structures of the heart. Two-dimensional real-time imaging may be performed so that a cross-section of the heart may be viewed for evaluation. Even more information may be obtained by the use of Doppler color flow imaging to visualize actual blood flow through the chambers of the heart. Knowledge of cardiac structures, physiology and pathophysiology is important if useful information is to be collected for diagnosis and treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease.

Noninvasive students concentrate on the technical and clinical duties related to Non-Invasive Echocardiography. Upon completion of the didactic classroom training of specific non-invasive cardiac theory, the student rotates through clinical sites for hands-on experience. Students may take nationally recognized board exams in Noninvasive Echocardiography administered by CCI or ARDMS upon completion of the program.

Noninvasive Vascular Technology is an allied health profession that focuses on diagnosing vascular diseases. The vascular technologist uses sonography, pressure-measuring devices and plethysmography to document venous and arterial disease. The exams are interpreted by vascular surgeons and neurologists. The term "noninvasive" is used because the methods do not involve a surgical procedure.

The vascular technologist is required to have in-depth knowledge of vascular anatomy, disease and treatment. The information he or she provides assists the vascular surgeon and neurologist in identifying and quantifying the extent of a vascular disease. The exams are performed in a vascular lab, at a patient's bedside or in an operating room.

The veins and arteries of extremities and cranial and abdominal vessels can be examined by the vascular technologist. These vessels may have a buildup of chronic arteriosclerosis or a sudden blockage caused by trauma or embolism. The scope of exams performed by vascular technologists is varied due to the many vessels and situations they are qualified to examine.

Students concentrate on the technical and clinical duties related to Non-Invasive Vascular Technology. Upon completion of the didactic classroom training of specific noninvasive vascular theory, the student rotates through clinical sites for hands-on experience. Students may take nationally recognized board exams in Noninvasive Vascular Technology administered by CCI or ARDMS upon completion of the program.

The Invasive Cardiac Catheterization Technologist works with physicians in the cardiac catheterization laboratory to diagnose and treat heart patients. Cardiac catheterization refers to the method of inserting small catheters through a needle into the blood vessels and into the heart so that X-rays, angiograms and other recordings can be taken to determine the heart's structure and function.

As a member of the cardiac catheterization team, the cardiovascular technologist serves as a surgical scrub assistant, monitors the patient's hemodynamic and physiologic condition, circulates and administers drugs, and operates additional laboratory equipment.

Cardiac Cath studies consist of diagnostic and interventional procedures such as coronary and cardiac angiography, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (in which a balloon catheter is used to open clogged arteries) and right heart catheterization (in which blood flow measurements are made).

Students concentrate on the technical and clinical duties related to Invasive Cardiac Catheterization Technology. Upon completion of the didactic classroom training of specific invasive cardiac catheterization theory, the student rotates through clinical sites for hands-on experience. Students may take the nationally recognized board exam in Invasive Cardiovascular Technology administered by CCI upon completion of the program.

The Harry T. Harper Jr., M.D., School of Cardiac and Vascular Technology is a Piedmont program honoring Georgia's first cardiologist. The program offices and clinical sites are at Piedmont Heart of Augusta, Georgia's second-largest center for cardiovascular medicine. The program is accredited by The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs of the American Medical Association.

The school is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) for the Joint Review Committee on Cardiovascular Technology, which maintains and promotes appropriate standards of quality for cardiovascular technologists.

Admission to the School of Cardiac and Vascular Technology is competitive. 
Students are required to have a minimal GPA of 2.75 and to have completed the following core courses* :  

• Introduction to Psychology
• English Composition and Rhetoric
• Anatomy and Physiology I + Lab
• Anatomy and Physiology II + Lab
• College Algebra
• Statistics
• Physics + Lab
• Humanities/Fine Arts

* Core course acceptance is subject to evaluation by admissions personnel.   

The 15-month program is a sequence of courses that prepares students to work with physicians to evaluate, diagnose and treat cardiac and vascular patients. The program consists of didactic theory courses followed by hands-on clinical experience spent in the student technologist's chosen specialty.

Cardiovascular Technology is an allied health profession specifically concerning the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cardiac and vascular disease. A cardiovascular technologist performs examinations at the request or under the direct supervision of a physician, is proficient in the use of analytical equipment and provides a foundation of data from which a correct anatomic and physiologic diagnosis may be made. Procedures performed by the cardiovascular technologist include but are not limited to cardiac catheterization, balloon angioplasty, thrombolytic therapy, echocardiography, exercise stress testing and Doppler ultrasound.

Students will take the National Registry in Cardiac or Vascular Technology exam upon completion of the program.

Continued technological advances in cardiac diagnosis and therapy have created steady demands for trained technologists with few training programs available. Cardiac and Vascular technologists may pursue careers within hospitals, physicians' offices, medical clinics, mobile outreach companies, cardiac equipment companies or research groups.