Echocardiogram

Lee Health: Your Partner in Understanding Your Heart Health

Our community deserves the very best from us as their trusted partner. The echocardiogram lab at Lee Health provides the latest technology for evaluating cardiac function. This technology allows for greater consistency and accuracy through automation on our ultrasound machines.

What is an echocardiogram?

An echocardiogram, or echo, is a noninvasive diagnostic test that allows doctors to take pictures of your heart and see its chambers as they move and pump blood. This test uses sound waves to produce images of your heart allowing doctors to see your heart beating and pumping blood. This allows Lee Health cardiologists with quality imaging to assess both the structure and the function of your heart. The picture is much more detailed than a plain x-ray image and involves no radiation exposure. 

Your doctor may recommend an echocardiogram to:

• Check for heart valve or chamber problems
• Check if shortness of breath or chest pain are related to heart problems
• Detect congenital heart defects (fetal acho)
• Track effectiveness of various medications and treatments. 

Types of echocardiograms for diagnosing heart disease include:

• Three-dimensional (3D) echocardiogram uses the latest signal processing technology to construct a three dimensional picture of your heart. These images provide your doctors with a complete picture of your heart, enabling them to recommend the best treatment for your heart disease. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT 3D ECHOCARDIOGRAMS HERE

• Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) creates images of the heart using an ultrasound transducer placed against the chest. The ulttrasound can see through the skin and chest wall to the heart and create live motion pictures of the cardiac structure and function. Doppler and color doppler are used during this procedure to provide better analysis of blood flow patterns.
• Stress echocardiogram: Allows doctors to see how your heart looks and performs when it is under the stress of exercise.
• Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) provides a detailed look at your heart from a perspective that is not possible with traditional echocardiograms.

Technology and Expertise at Lee Health: Our Approach to Echocardiograms (Echos)

Lee Health provides the most advanced technology in the region for echocardiograms.

Echocardiography is the study of heart and function using sound waves (ultrasound). This is done by moving an ultrasound transducer to various locations on your chest, back or abdomen in order to image each structure of the heart from various viewpoints. We use a water-soluable gel to conduct the sound waves from the transducer to your body. You will not be able to feel or hear sound waves themselves, but you will feel the slight pressure of the transducer on your body as the sonographer positions it in various locations.

Occasionally, we will need to insert an intravenous line to allow for the administration of small gas bubbles that enhance the images.

Many patients find the exam to be a pleasant and interesting experience. Please tell us if you have concerns. We are here to help you!

Who to contact

For questions related to cardiovascular care or services, email us at [email protected]