Medical Questions » Heart Questions » Question No. 489
| Question: | I have been asked by my specialist doctor, who looks after my dickey heart, to go for an echo test on my heart. I' ve had some unpleasant experiences with tests on my heart before, and would like you to tell me what is involved. |
| Answer: | Echocardiograms are sound waves that can show the movement of the heart valves. It is rather like a machine that can be placed on the outside of a car to visualise the movement of the pistons of an engine that is running.
While lying down, the patient' s chest is smeared with gel, and an instrument is then placed on the chest and moved slowly from one point to another over the heart. The instrument sends out high-frequency sound waves, and receives back an echo of these waves as they are reflected by the heart. The reflected waves are recorded on a moving sheet of paper to give a complex tracing.
Any diseases of the valves can be detected, and the severity determined. The test takes 15 to 30 minutes, and there is no discomfort whatsoever.
Expert doctors (usually cardiologists) can interpret this tracing to see if the heart valves are working properly (eg. if they are leaking or narrowed) and to check the contraction of each chamber of the heart.
Because there is no risk, no pain and no discomfort involved with this procedure, it is often performed before progressing to more sophisticated and invasive tests on the heart. If no abnormalities show on the echocardiograph, the other tests may be unnecessary.
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