WHAT IS AN ECHOCARDIOGRAM?
An echocardiogram (echo) is a graphic outline of your heart’s movement. During an echo test, your healthcare provider uses ultrasound (high-frequency sound waves) from a hand-held wand placed on your chest to take pictures of your heart’s valves and chambers. This helps the provider evaluate the pumping action of your heart.
Echocardiography uses no radiation. This makes an echo different from other tests like X-rays and CT scans that use small amounts of radiation.
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HOW IT WORKS
An echocardiogram can help diagnose and monitor certain heart conditions. It checks the structure of the heart and surrounding blood vessels, analysing how blood flows through them, and assessing the pumping chambers of the heart.
An echocardiogram can help detect:
Damage from a heart attack – where the supply of blood to the heart was suddenly blocked
Heart failure – where the heart fails to pump enough blood around the body at the right pressure
Congenital heart disease – birth defects that affect the normal workings of the heart
Problems with the heart valves – problems affecting the valves that control the flow of blood within the heart
Cardiomyopathy – where the heart walls become thickened or enlarged
endocarditis – an infection of the heart valves
An echocardiogram can also help your doctors decide on the best treatment for these conditions.
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Echocardiogram Frequently Asked Questions
What happens during an Echocardiogram
The ultrasound images are taken by a technician known as a sonographer. The sonographer will ask you to undress from the waist up and lay on your left side on a special bed.
The sonographer will move a wand over your chest. This wand sends sound waves through your body and uses the echoes of those sound waves to create the images of your heart.
What happens after an Echocardiogram?
The ultrasound images received by the echo test are reviewed by a cardiologist. The cardiologist makes a report and discusses the results with you.
Is an Echocardiogram safe?
Yes. It doesn’t expose you to radiation.
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