Echocardiography Health Article

Complications

There are no known complications associated with the use of echocardiography. There is a slight risk of having a heart attack during an exercise echocardiogram, due to the stress put on the heart during the test, mostly for patients with a history of heart attack or other risk factors.

Results

A normal echocardiogram shows a normal heart structure and the normal flow of blood through the heart chambers and heart valves. However, a normal echocardiogram does not rule out the possibility of heart disease.

An echocardiogram may show a number of abnormalities in the structure and function of the heart, such as:

• thickening of the wall of the heart muscle (especially the left ventricle)
• abnormal motion of the heart muscle
• blood leaking backward through the heart valves (regurgitation)
• decreased blood flow through a heart valve (stenosis)

Health care team roles

Echocardiography should be performed by a registered diagnostic cardiac sonographer—an ultrasonographer specially trained in cardiac ultrasound. The results should be interpreted by a cardiologist trained in the application of cardiac sonography. The Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories provides a self-evaluation process for echocardiography labs to become accredited. Accreditation involves staff evaluation and training, equipment assessment, and peer review.

KEY TERMS

Doppler imaging—A mode of ultrasound imaging that uses the physics principle of the Doppler effect (sound frequency waves shift relative to the observer, allowing velocity measurement) to produce color or gray-scale images of blood flow velocity and heart motion.

Heart murmur—An abnormal sound originating from the heart, usually detected by stethoscope. Murmurs are often caused by abnormalities of the heart valves.

Lupus—Also known as systemic lupus erythematosus, it is an autoimmune disease that may affect connective tissues and possibly the heart.

Noninvasive—Pertaining to a diagnostic procedure or treatment that does not require the skin to be broken or a body cavity to be entered.

Regurgitation—Backward flow of blood through a partially closed heart valve.

Transducer—A device that converts electrical signals into ultrasound waves and ultrasound waves back into electrical impulses; also called a probe.

Ultrasound—Sound waves at high frequencies beyond the level of human hearing; frequencies of approximately 2 to 10 megahertz are often used for diagnostic ultrasound imaging.

BOOKS

Faculty Members of the Yale University School of Medicine. The Patient's Book of Medical Tests. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997.

PERIODICALS

Kosoff, George. "Basic Physics and Imaging Characteristics of Ultrasound." World Journal of Surgery 24 (February 2000):134-142.

Lee, Thomas H. and Charles A. Boucher. "Noninvasive tests in patients with stable coronary artery disease." New England Journal of Medicine 344, no. 24 (June 14,2001):1840-6.

ORGANIZATIONS

American College of Cardiology. Heart House, 9111 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20814-1699. (800) 253-4636. <http://www.acc.org>.

American Heart Association National Center. 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75231. (800) AHA-USA1. <http://www.americanheart.org>.

American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. 14750 Sweitzer Lane, Suite 100, Laurel, MD 20707-5906. (301) 498-4100. <http://www.aium.org>.

American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers. 600 Jefferson Plaza, Suite 360, Rockville, MD 20852-1150.(800) 541-9754. <http://www.ardms.org>.

American Society of Echocardiography. 1500 Sunday Drive, Suite 102, Raleigh, NC 27607. (919) 787-5181. <http://asecho.org>.

OTHER

Barasch, Eddy. "Why Doctors Use Echocardiography." <http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/articles/heart/echocard_3/>.

Jennifer E. Sisk, M.A.