Transthoracic Echocardiogram

This test is designed to look at the structure of the heart. Your healthcare provider may order it if you have chest pain, shortness of breath, or if they hear a murmur on physical exam.

• Two-dimensional (2D) echocardiogram and three-dimensional (3D) echocardiogram: These images provide pictures of the walls of the heart, the valves of the heart, and large vessels that connect to the heart. A standard transthoracic echocardiogram begins with 2D images of heart. 3D images may be obtained to better evaluate the structure of the main left pumping chamber, called the left ventricle.
• Doppler echocardiogram: Sound waves change pitch as they move through the red blood cells moving through the heart and its valves. We can use these changes in pitch to evaluate the flow of blood through the heart, including the speed and direction. This in turn allows us to see if there are narrowed or leaking valves and allows us to evaluate the pressures inside the pulmonary artery. We can display the changes in blood flow as a graph that depicts how flow changes over time or as color images superimposed on the 2D images to create a visual representation of the flow of blood.
• Strain echocardiogram: Thanks to new advances in computer software, we can now track individual speckles within 2D imaging that are generated by the echocardiogram and track how they change their position over time. We can calculate just how much these individual speckles change position with each heartbeat, and this calculation, is referred to as “strain”. By measuring strain in different orientations, we can detect the earliest signs of damage. This type of imaging is typically done for patients with cancer who are receiving chemotherapy with the potential to be toxic to the heart.

We offer this test at all our AdventHealth hospitals as well as our Lansing clinic. Please arrive 15 minutes before your test is scheduled to allow for check in. The procedure will take approximately 45 minutes.

Echocardiograms are performed by specially trained cardiac sonographers. During the test you will lie on a table, and you will have small adhesive pads (electrodes) placed on your chest. These electrodes hook up to an electrocardiogram to monitor and record your heart rhythm during the test. The room will be dark so that cardiac sonographer can better see the video monitor. The cardiac sonographer will put gel on the ultrasound probe to help conduct the sound waves better as they pass the probe across your chest. The probe generates the sound waves, which will bounce of the heart and its structures to generate an echo. The sound waves are identified by the machine, which then generates the 2D, 3D, and Doppler images and records them so that they may be reviewed by a Cardiologist. Some patients might need contrast to get better quality images. If this is the case, then you will get an IV to administer the contrast.

There are no special preparations in anticipation of this test. You may resume normal activities as soon as you are done. You may take your medications as well as eat and drink as you normally would.