ECHOCARDIOGRAM
Echocardiography is the process of using sonar or ultrasound to create a picture (echocardiogram) of the heart. Through a microphone-shaped transducer on the skin, sound waves pass into the chest towards the heart where they bounce off the interface between tissues of different densities--for example, heart muscle and blood. The sound wave echoes are picked up by the transducer and transmitted by wires to an ultrasound machine that converts the electrical impulses into an image.
Major Indications
1) suspected pericardial effusion (fluid around the heart). 2) evaluation of the heart valves. 3) evaluation of heart failure. 4) strokes in persons with heart disease. 5). congenital heart disease. 6) heart tumors.
Procedure
No hospitalization, anesthesia or special preparation i required; the test is done either right in the office or in a special echo laboratory. Although a technician may perform the procedure, a cardiologist (specialist in heart diseases) is responsible for the interpretation.
The patient is asked to lie on his back while the transducer is held on the skin over the middle of the chest. A lubricating gel helps assure clear transmission and reception of the sound waves. The technician manipulates the transducer, pointing it in different directions to obtain the desired pictures. Overweight persons and those with thick chests may be difficult to examine. The test is entirely painless and takes less than a one-half hour.
Information Obtained
Depending on the type and quality of the echocardiogram, a skilled cardiologist will be able to determine the size of the heart chambers, the thickness and strength of the heart muscle, the quantity of blood pumped with each beat, whether there is fluid in the sac surrounding the heart and whether the valves are abnormal, narrowed or leaking. This information can be extremely helpful to physicians trying to diagnose and treat many diseases of the heart.
Adverse Effects
There are no known adverse effects.
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