Echocardiography Fact Sheet
The Gill Heart Institute offers a variety of outpatient cardiac services and testing, including holter and event monitoring, stress testing, echocardiography, EKGs and cholesterol testing.
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An echocardiogram uses sound waves to create an image of the heart. The sonographer, or the person giving the test, can then see the heart moving on a screen.The echocardiogram is known also as transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE), Doppler ultrasound of the heart or surface echo.
• The test generally takes 30 to 45 minutes, is painless and noninvasive.
• No preparations are necessary before an echo. The patient may eat or drink up to the time of the procedure.
• The test is conducted in a quiet, dimly lit room.
• Patients are asked to remove their clothing from the waist up. A gown is available for female patients.
• The patient will lay down on a bed for the test and the sonographer will spread gel over the patient’s chest to help the sound waves penetrate to the heart.
• The cardiologist will move a wand (transducer) over the chest to capture the heart movements.
• The sound waves echo on the heart, producing the heart’s image.
• Patients should remain still and quiet during the test to give the best reading possible; however,
they may be asked to lay or breathe a certain way.
Factors during the test may make the echocardiogram unclear, in which case the sonographer may want to perform a transesophageal echocardiogram.
A transesophageal echocardiogram produces a clearer image but is more invasive. A scope is inserted down the patient’s throat (as though it were swallowed) and a device at the end of the scope sends sound waves to produce an image.
After the test, a cardiologist will look at the test results to determine the next steps in the patient’s treatment.
UK Gill Heart Institute
859-323-5479
ukhealthcare.uky.edu/centers/GHI
American Heart Association
1-800-AHA-USA-1 (242-8721)
www.americanheart.org
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
301-592-8573
www.nhlbi.org
Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories
1-800-838-2110
www.icael.org
American Society of Echocardiography
919-861-5574
www.asecho.org
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