Echocardiogram And Transesophageal Echocardiography For Heart

1. Echocardiogram: ECHO -Uses sound waves to produce images of your heart. This common test allows your physician to see how your heart is beating and how blood is moving through your heart. Images from an echocardiogram are used to identify various abnormalities in the heart muscle and valves. This test can be done while you’re at rest or with exercise to elevate your heart rate.

Reasons for the test:

• Determine the cause of a heart murmur
• Check the function of heart valves
• Assess the overall function of the heart

2. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE): Uses high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to make detailed pictures of your heart and the arteries that lead to and from it. The echo transducer that produces the sound waves for TEE is attached to a thin tube that passes through  mouth, down throat and into your esophagus, which is very close to the upper chambers of the heart.

Reasons for the test:

• Assess the function of heart valves
• Follow heart valve disease
• Look for blood clots inside the heart

Reference: https://healthblog.uofmhealth.org/

Image credit:

• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heart_lpla_echocardiography_diagram.jpg :Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator, CC BY 2.5 , via Wikimedia Commons
• • https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heart_tee_four_chamber_view.jpg: Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator, CC BY 2.5 , via Wikimedia Commons