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Did your doctor ask you to schedule an “echo?” The full name of this test is an “echocardiogram” or “echocardiography.” It is an ultrasound of your heart. Here are the main things to know about an echo before — or after — you get one.
1. What They Show
In an echocardiogram, sound waves from the ultrasound machine are turned into images of the motion happening inside your heart. This technology does not expose the patient to ionizing radiation like x-rays. Echocardiograms reveal the movements of the heart’s different parts including the walls of its chambers and the heart’s valves. Echocardiograms also show the heart’s size and structure.
2. Why Doctors Order Them
There are several reasons that your doctor might order an echocardiogram. One of the most common reasons is that the doctor heard abnormal heart sounds (called a heart murmur) with a stethoscope. Your doctor may also want an echocardiogram to figure out why you’re having symptoms, such as chest pain. The echo results will give your doctor more information to help diagnose a condition or monitor your heart health after a heart attack, stroke, or heart surgery.
3. What Happens During an Echo
Usually when people say “echocardiogram,” they’re talking about the most common type of echo—the standard transthoracic echocardiogram, or TTE. When you have a TTE, you lay on a table while a technician glides a wand-like instrument, called a transducer, around on your chest to create moving pictures of your heart. The TTE is painless and has no risks.
A transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) involves taking moving pictures of your heart with a very small transducer that is passed down your throat. TTEs create clearer pictures than a standard echocardiogram.
4. What Happens After an Echo
You’ll discuss the results of the echo with your doctor on the same day or within a few days. You should be able to return to normal activities right after a standard echo. If you have a TEE, you will probably take medicine to help you relax. This means you will not be able to drive for at least a few hours after the test. You may also have a sore throat for a day or two.
5. You May Have Other Tests With an Echo
Your doctor may ask you to have other tests at the same time as an echo.
Some tests that can go along with echocardiograms include:
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Cardiac catheterization , which involves passing a long, thin tube (catheter) though a blood vessel in your neck, groin or arm and guiding it to your heart. Cardiac catheterization is a minimally invasive way of diagnosing and treating various heart conditions. For example, your doctor may want you to have coronary angiography to look for blockages in the heart arteries.
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Chest X-ray, CT, or MRI. These all involve creating pictures of your chest using different types of imaging technology.
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EKG (electrocardiogram), a test that records the electrical activity of your heart.
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Stress test , where you walk slowly on a treadmill to find out how exercise affects your heart.
