How Does an Echocardiogram Work, and is it Safe?

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QUESTION: Although I think I know what a cardiogram involves, I am less
certain about the way an Echocardiogram works. A member of my family is to
have one, and I am both curious as to why as well as concerned with the safety
of this test. Would you please shed some light on this question?
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ANSWER: I would be pleased to, for I can certainly reassure you as to the
safety of this procedure. It is simple and noninvasive, and uses very fast
sound waves which pass through the patient's chest to the heart and bounce
back (echo) to produce a record or graph which forms an image that the
physician can use to evaluate the walls and chambers of the heart, as well as
the valves which control the flow of blood through the heart as it beats.
While an electrocardiogram produces the pattern of electrical flow through the
heart and may be used to evaluate changes in rhythm, for example, and blood
tests may show the alterations in enzymes produced by a heart during a heart
attack, an echocardiogram may yield early information on the size and extent
of the attack, the location, as well as the presence of clots or masses, while
measuring heart function and the condition of the valves. Sometimes a chest
x-ray shows the heart to be enlarged, and the "echo" will reveal whether the
heart wall has become stretched or thickened due to disease. It may detect
the presence of fluid in the sac that covers the heart, and is a useful tool
to measure the effect of medications and treatment on the heart muscle mass
and size. There is little preparation necessary, and there is no pain nor
discomfort while the test is being conducted. The patient remains totally
awake and conscious while the probe that both sends and receives the sound
signal is moved about the chest to obtain the best "picture" of the heart in
action. The test has been in use for more than twenty years, is relatively
inexpensive when compared to other tests, and is free from side effects, both
physical as well as psychological. While I can not offer you more information
as to why the test is being conducted for your family member, you may be
confident as to their well being.