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Echocardiogram

Also called: Echocardiography, Transthoracic Echocardiogram, Cardiac Ultrasound

- Summary
- About echocardiograms
- Types and differences
- Conditions diagnosed
- Before, during and after
- About TEE
- About intravascular echocardiograms
- Questions for your doctor

Reviewed By:
Abdou Elhendy, MD, PhD, FACC, FAHA
Kerry Prewitt, M.D., FACC

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Summary

Also known simply as an “echo,” an echocardiogram is a common diagnostic test that uses sound waves to create pictures of the heart and its vessels. It may also be called a transthoracic echocardiogram. The word “transthoracic” means “across the chest.”

The echocardiogram uses high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to get a picture of the four heart chambers and the four heart valves. The sound waves bounce back from the heart chambers and valves, producing images and sounds that can be used by the physician to detect damage and disease.

Because an echocardiogram does not involve any radiation, as opposed to an x-ray, it is a very safe test. In fact, it utilizes the same technology used to evaluate a baby’s health before birth.

To perform a transthoracic echocardiogram, a special gel is placed on the chest over the area being examined. A small device (transducer) is then moved over the gelled area, and images can be seen immediately on a video monitor.

There are several types of echocardiograms, including:

One-dimensional, two-dimensional, or three-dimensional echocardiograms.
Doppler ultrasound. Measures the speed that blood is traveling through the heart.
Exercise stress echocardiogram. Measures the wall motion of the heart’s pumping chamber before and immediately after exercise (on a treadmill or stationary bicycle).
Pharmacologic stress echocardiogram. Measures the wall motion of the heart’s pumping chamber before and after drug-induced stress.
Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE). Produces clear images of the heart structures and valves, without the interference of the chest wall and lungs. During this test, the transducer is placed down the patient’s throat, into the esophagus.
Intravascular echocardiogram. Produces clear images of plaque and calcium deposits on the inside of a blood vessel. During this test, the transducer is placed inside a patient's blood vessel.
Intracardiac echocardiogram. An invasive test in which an ultrasound probe is placed in the heart for direct visualization of the different structures.