congenital heart disease – birth defects that affect the normal workings of the heart.heart failure – where the heart fails to pump enough blood around the body at the right pressure.damage from a heart attack – where the supply of blood to the heart was suddenly blocked.It checks the structure of the heart and surrounding blood vessels, analysing how blood flows through them, and assessing the pumping chambers of the heart. When an echocardiogram is usedĪn echocardiogram can help diagnose and monitor certain heart conditions. The test will usually be carried out at a hospital or clinic by a cardiologist or a trained specialist called a cardiac physiologist.Īlthough it has a similar name, an echocardiogram isn't the same as an electrocardiogram (ECG), which is a test used to check your heart's rhythm and electrical activity. These echoes are picked up by the probe and turned into a moving image that's displayed on a monitor while the scan is carried out.Īn echocardiogram may be requested by a heart specialist (cardiologist) or any doctor who thinks you might have a problem with your heart, including your GP. It's a type of ultrasound scan, which means a small probe is used to send out high-frequency sound waves that create echoes when they bounce off different parts of the body. An echocardiogram, or "echo", is a scan used to look at the heart and nearby blood vessels.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |