Echocardiography

Echocardiography (also called echo, cardiac ultrasound or ultrasonography, cardiac Doppler, transthoracic echocardiography, or TTE) is a computer procedure that allows physicians to study the way the heart and its valves are functioning. An ultrasound machine creates a moving image of the heart by bouncing soundwaves over it. The process is simple and painless.

There are several diseases of the heart that may be detected by echocardiography, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Atherosclerosis (also called coronary artery disease) – a gradual clogging of the arteries over many years by fatty materials and other substances in the blood stream.

• Aneurysm -- a dilation of a part of the heart muscle or the aorta (the large artery that carries oxygenated blood out of the heart to the rest of the body), which may cause a weakness of the tissue at the site of the aneurysm. In extreme cases, the aneurysm may rupture, which is an emergency situation, due to rapid blood loss out of the blood vessels.

• Cardiomyopathy -- an enlargement of the heart due to thickening or weakening of the heart muscle.

• Congenital defects -- defects in one or more heart structures that occur during formation of the fetus.

• Congestive heart failure -- a condition in which the heart muscle has become weakened to an extent that blood cannot be pumped efficiently; thus, causing build-up (congestion) in the blood vessels, lungs, feet, ankles, and other parts of the body.

• Pericarditis -- an inflammation or infection of the sac that surrounds the heart.
• Valve disease -- malfunction of one or more of the heart valves may cause an obstruction of the blood flow within the heart.