If you have a heart issue, your health provider will recommend that you undergo testing to reveal the anatomy and function of the blood-pumping organ. A standard diagnostic tool that your health specialist may use is Tomball echocardiograms. An echocardiogram works by sending sound waves to your heart before bouncing back and being captured and converted into images you can see on the screen.
Your health specialist can see your cause of breathing difficulty and chest pain and detect issues with your heart’s chambers (lower and upper) and valves. An echocardiogram may also reveal inherited heart disease before your baby is born and help track the working of invasive treatment.
Consequently, below are the different types of echocardiograms.
Transthoracic echocardiography
As the most common echocardiogram, the operator will need to apply a gel on the device before placing it on your skin. Your health specialist has to ensure the transducer has a comfortable, firm grip on the skin to promote the sending of sound vibrations from your chest into the heart.
The device captures the echoes of the vibrations of sound. A conversion process turns the waves into images, and you can observe your heart and adjacent organs on the computer.
If adjacent organs are blocking the visibility of your heart, your health specialist may introduce a chemical enhancer via Intravenous therapy. The chemical agent enhances the structures of your heart, and thus, there is clearer viewing on a screen.
Transesophageal echocardiography
Since your health provider requires detailed and more precise images of the structures of your heart, the conventional cardiac echo testing tool becomes unreliable. That is why your health specialist may prefer using the transesophageal echocardiogram.
The procedure begins with your health specialist numbing your pharynx (throat), and you may also benefit from medicine to help you lie still and calm.
Then there is the guiding of a tiny and flexible tube with a device emitting sound vibrations into the food pipe, the muscular and hollow tube linking your mouth and belly.
The electronic device or probe captures the echoing movement of sound from the heart, and a computer transforms them into images for real-time viewing.
Stress echocardiography
Also called a stress echocardiogram, the procedure focuses on detecting heart issues affecting arteries that transport blood to the cardiac muscle. The cardiac muscle is the thick middle layer of your heart.
The procedure determines how well your heart responds to intense work-out. During testing, your health specialist monitors vital signs like heart rate and blood pressure.
The expert will capture images of the structures of your heart before and after you undertake physically demanding activity. Sometimes, you may not need to exercise or perform a strenuous activity since your health specialist can give you a drug that forces your heart to function harder and thus require more oxygen and other nutrients.
Doppler echocardiogram
The technique relies on the doppler effect to help your healthcare giver measure and assess the course and movement rate of the blood flowing throughout the chambers and valves of your heart.
Contact Cardiovascular Institute, P.A. today for an echocardiogram specialist to assist you in identifying your heart problems.