Echocardiogram

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Circulatory system

An echocardiogram is a test that uses sound waves to create a moving picture of the heart. The picture is much more detailed than a plain x-ray image and involves no radiation exposure.

Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE); Echocardiogram - transthoracic; Doppler ultrasound of the heart; Surface echo

TRANSTHORACIC ECHOCARDIOGRAM (TTE)

TTE is the type of echocardiogram that most people will have.

• A trained sonographer performs the test, then a heart doctor interprets the results.
• An instrument called a transducer that releases high-frequency sound waves is placed on your ribs near the breast bone and directed toward the heart. Other images will be taken underneath and slightly to the left of your nipple and in the upper abdomen.
• The transducer picks up the echoes of sound waves and transmits them as electrical impulses. The echocardiography machine converts these impulses into moving pictures of the heart.
• Pictures can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional, depending on the part of the heart being evaluated and the type of machine.
• A Doppler echocardiogram uses a probe to record the motion of blood through the heart.

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An echocardiogram allows doctors to see the heart beating, and to see the heart valves and other structures of the heart.

Occasionally, your lungs, ribs, or body tissue may prevent the sound waves and echoes from providing a clear picture of heart function. If so, the sonographer may inject a small amount of liquid (contrast) through an IV to better see the inside of the heart.

Very rarely, more invasive testing using special echocardiography probes may be needed.

TRANSESOPHAGEAL ECHOCARDIOGRAM (TEE)

The back of your throat is numbed and a scope is inserted down your throat.

On the end of the scope is a device that sends out sound waves. An experienced technician will guide the scope down to the lower part of the esophagus. It is used to get a clearer echocardiogram of your heart.

There is no special preparation for the test. For a TEE, you will be asked not to eat or drink for several hours before the test.