Cardiology: Specialty Training Interview Questions
The cardiology questions that sit on top of the specialty training core: clinical scenarios, the system and governance questions specific to the specialty, and presentation titles.
Updated 28 October 2026
The structures these questions are marked on
- SAFER See the patient, Assess systematically with ABCDE, Fix what you can and decide, Escalate with a clear request in SBAR or ISBAR, Review: the patient told, the handover, the documentation and what you would do if the first plan failed. Full guide →
- The What it is in a sentence, Why it matters with a fact, What it means for this organisation and specialty, What I would do at my level and how I would measure it. Full guide →
- STAR Situation in a sentence, Task: what you had to do, Action: what you did in the first person, Result: the outcome with a number where there is one. Add Reflection for STARR. Full guide →
Motivation
Point to things you have done rather than feelings you have: tasters, audits, courses, exams, conferences. Name what you will find hard, honestly. Know the curriculum, the stages and the exams, and have an answer for what you would do if unsuccessful this year.
- Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialty
Why cardiology, and what have you done to show you are committed to it?
Evidence over enthusiasm: the cardiology rotation and what it confirmed, the echo or cath lab time, the audit, the course, the research, the conference. Say what each taught you about the job rather than the appeal of the specialty.
- Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical lead
What do you know about the cardiology curriculum, dual accreditation with internal medicine, and the subspecialty options?
Group 1: dual training with internal medicine and the acute take throughout, the length, the subspecialty years in intervention, electrophysiology, imaging, heart failure or devices, and the exams. Two accurate sentences, then what will be hardest for you.
- Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialty
Which area of cardiology interests you, and how would that fit the service you would be training in?
An area with reasons from what you have seen, with openness about how training may change it. Say what you know about the regional service and its subspecialty strengths.
- Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical lead
Cardiology has a demanding procedural learning curve and heavy on call. How will you sustain a career in it?
A real strategy: the procedural volume and how you would build it, the on call and recovery, life outside, what you would do if you noticed the signs of burnout.
Clinical scenario
Go to see the patient, assess with ABCDE, treat what can be treated, escalate early and clearly, and say what you would do afterwards. Assessors are scoring judgement, prioritisation and escalation rather than knowledge; a safe answer that asks for help early beats a clever one that does not.
A 58 year old presents with chest pain and ST elevation at a hospital ninety minutes from the nearest cath lab. What do you do?
Primary PCI if the lab can be reached within the window, thrombolysis if not, with the interventional centre on the phone. Aspirin and the second antiplatelet, anticoagulation, analgesia, monitoring, the transfer arranged. Say what would exclude thrombolysis, and what you would do if it failed.
A patient on the ward has a broad complex tachycardia at 180 and a blood pressure of 85. Talk us through your management.
Unstable: synchronised cardioversion under sedation now, with the anaesthetist and the arrest team called. If stable, the diagnosis and the drug, with the ECG examined for the features that distinguish VT. Say what you would do if cardioversion failed.
A 72 year old with known heart failure is admitted breathless, hypotensive and oliguric. What do you do?
Cardiogenic shock until proven otherwise: the cause sought, the ECG and echo, cautious fluids or none, inotropes and the cardiac intensive care unit, the discussion about mechanical support and the ceiling of care. Say who you would call and what you would tell the family.
A 45 year old presents with chest pain, a normal ECG and a normal first troponin and wants to go home. What do you do?
The history and the risk score, the second troponin at the right interval, the differentials that must not be missed including dissection and embolus, and the plan if the second troponin is normal. Say what you would tell the patient about returning.
A patient with a new murmur is febrile with a history of intravenous drug use. What do you do?
Endocarditis until proven otherwise: three sets of blood cultures before antibiotics, the echo, the empirical antibiotics by the guideline, the microbiology and cardiothoracic involvement, and the complications watched for. Say when surgery would be considered.
A patient with a new pacemaker is readmitted with syncope. What do you do?
The device interrogated, the lead position checked, the ECG and the telemetry, the other causes of syncope considered, and the device clinic and the implanting cardiologist involved. Say what would make you suspect lead displacement.
A 30 year old collapses while running and is found to have a hypertrophied left ventricle on echo. How do you manage them?
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with an exertional syncope is a high risk presentation: admission, the risk assessment for sudden death, the implantable defibrillator discussion, the genetics and family screening, and the exercise advice. Say how you would explain it to the patient.
System knowledge
Name three current pressures and link each to your specialty and your own experience. Know how your training is governed: the ARCP, the curriculum, the college and the GMC.
What are the biggest challenges facing cardiology services in the NHS, and how do they affect training?
Waiting times for echo and intervention, the heart failure burden, workforce in the cath labs, the shift of chronic care to the community, and the effect on training lists. Link each to what you have seen.
Governance, safety and quality
The problem, the measure, what you changed, the result and whether it lasted. Be clear about your own contribution. Know the definitions and be able to say which your project was.
Tell us about an audit or QI project in cardiology and what changed.
The problem, the standard, the measure, the change, the result, your part. If it was on door to balloon times, heart failure prescribing or anticoagulation, say why it mattered.