Abdul El-Sayed said Americans wait two and a half months to see a cardiologist; the best national surveys say about one month instead.
Story Snapshot
- El-Sayed’s 2.5-month “average” clashes with recent national surveys near 33 days.
- Waits vary wildly by city, from one day to 175 days, which fuels mixed anecdotes.
- Cardiology access has worsened over time as the workforce tightens.
- Policy fixes should expand capacity first; slogans about coverage cannot produce doctors.
What Was Said, And What The Data Actually Show
Abdul El-Sayed told a national audience that the average wait to see a cardiologist is about two and a half months. Fox News hosts pushed back and framed the average as closer to a month. The most current national survey from AMN Healthcare reports 32.7 days on average to see a cardiologist across 15 metro markets, with a range from one day to 175 days. Conservative readers should see the gap plainly: the data back a long wait, but not 75 days as a national average.
Secondary coverage repeated that near-33-day figure and used it to counter the 2.5-month claim, which is why the exchange drew heat. The average matters for public debate, yet it hides the brutal spread: many patients are seen in a couple weeks, while others wait months. That spread creates the personal stories both sides reach for. The national mean still signals a system under strain, but it does not validate a universal two-and-a-half-month slog.
Why Access Keeps Slipping: Fewer Hands, More Hearts To Treat
Survey trend lines show cardiology waits rising over recent years. The American College of Cardiology highlighted that average times for a general heart visit increased about 26 percent from 2017 to 2022, landing near 26.6 days before moving higher by 2025. That tracks with simple supply and demand. Heart disease risk grows with age and obesity. Demand rises. The pipeline of specialists grows slowly. When more people need care than doctors can see, the calendar stretches.
Geography makes it worse. Many rural counties lack any practicing cardiologist, pushing patients to drive far or wait longer in the nearest hub. Those bottlenecks show up in the AMN range, where some offices could see a patient in a day while others booked out almost six months. Conservatives call this what it is: a capacity problem. You cannot schedule your way out of a shortage. You need more teams, better routing, and smart use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants under clear protocols.
What Counts As “Average” And Why That Framing Misleads
The word “average” sounds simple. It is not. Office surveys capture first-available appointment times for selected markets. That is useful, but it is not a census of every clinic in America. It also blends urgent and nonurgent new-patient slots differently across practices. The number that should anchor a national claim is the best available multi-market mean. That stands near 33 days in 2025, not 75. Using the worst markets as the norm confuses the public and sours trust.
I just spent 6 months in the USA healthcare system. Both cardiology and pulmonary doctors in 2- 2.5 months wait times.
I spend a lot of time in Thailand. I see a cardio or pulmonary Dr the same day or at least within 3 days.
The contrast is staggering for equal health care.
— El_Pinguino …. Give as good as you get. (@jmd8800) October 6, 2026
Policy groups on the left argue single-payer coverage would not inherently raise waits. They say better planning could even cut them over time. Maybe. But coverage design does not conjure specialists. Systems that add demand faster than supply see longer lines. The practical fix starts with training and retaining more cardiology teams, expanding clinic hours, clearing referral bottlenecks with triage tools, and opening more procedural capacity where the backlogs are largest. That is common sense, not ideology.
How To Shrink The Wait Without Breaking The System
Start with transparency. Publish wait-time dashboards by region and visit type so patients and referrers can choose faster lanes. Fund more cardiology fellowship slots where shortages bite hardest. Support team-based care so routine follow-ups and prevention visits do not clog physician schedules. Use e-consults to answer simple questions in days, not weeks. Align payment so clinics are rewarded for faster access and better outcomes, not for letting the queue grow. These steps beat slogans every time.
Sources:
townhall.com, amnhealthcare.com, medicaleconomics.com, globenewswire.com, foxnews.com
