Echocardiography (often called “echo” for short) is an ultrasound that takes moving pictures of the heart using sound waves. Echocardiography is used to look for many things:
Size and shape of your heart
Heart chambers and valves function
Injured areas of heart muscle
Blood clots in the heart
Fluid buildup around heart
Problems with the aorta
During an Echo, you’ll lie on an exam table with patches attached to your chest to record your heart’s electrical activity. Your doctor will apply gel to your chest and move a wand around on your chest to produce pictures of your heart on a nearby screen. Some kinds of echocardiography will require your doctor to inject a special substance into one of your veins through your arm or hand. The test is painless and can take up to an hour to finish. In some cases, your doctor will walk you through what they’re seeing in real time, while others may choose to provide results after the test is over.
Regional Cardiology Consultants is dedicated to providing quality, comprehensive, state of the art, compassionate, cost-effective and timely medical services in the promotion of improved health for the community of the greater Philadelphia and New Jersey areas.
