Echocardiography

Procedure

An Echocardiogram is not surgery and it is painless. It is performed by a trained sonographer. This procedure lasts about 1/2 hour.
The patient is asked to remove clothes from the upper body and then lie on a bed on his/her left side or back. Several electrodes which are attached to the sonograph will be attached to the patient's chest  and shoulder areas.

The sonographer will apply a jelly to the probe of the sonograph and move it over the chest area of the patient.
This is not an X-Ray machine and no X-Rays will be taken: ultra high frequency waves pick up images of the heart and valves and transmit it to a monitor where the sonographer can observe the images of the heart's movements. A video and/or photos of theimages can then be made for diagnostic purposes.

Who needs an Echocardiogram?

• there is a heart murmur
• after a heart attack
• unexplained chest pains
• after rheumatic fever
• congenital heart defect

What the test shows

• problems with heart valves, such as leakage
• overall performance of the heart
• blood clots
• a wall or part of a heart muscle is weak
• size of heart chambers
• pumping function of the heart