An echocardiogram, also referred to as an “echo”, creates images of the heart by using high frequency sound waves. An echo allows your doctor to evaluate your heart muscle, its valves, and the pericardium (the sac that surrounds the heart) by producing two-dimensional, “real time” images.
An echocardiogram is primarily used to detect and assess:
- The function of the heart muscle, blood vessels, and valves.
- Cardiomyopathy (enlargement or weakness of the heart)
- Congenital (present at birth) heart defects
- Damage from high blood pressure
- Heart attack damage or scarring
- Pericardial (the sac that surrounds the heart) disease
The test is painless and non-invasive. Thirty or forty-five minutes are required to complete this test.