What an Echocardiogram Can Reveal About Your Heart

Any time your doctor orders an unfamiliar test, it’s normal to feel a little anxious. So when you hear that you need to have an echocardiogram (aka “echo”), you may wonder why your doctor thinks it’s necessary and what it might reveal about your heart health.

An echocardiogram is a useful, noninvasive tool that cardiologists use to get to the root of your symptoms, including chest pain. An echo uses ultrasound energy to allow your cardiologist to see inside and around your heart without a single incision, stitch, or even an electrode. 

Instead, the echo uses a handheld wand that your technician passes over your chest (transthoracic echo) to get a close look at your heart. Or you may be asked to swallow a transducer (transesophageal echo) to evaluate your heart from a different angle and view your aorta, which is the main artery to your heart. 

The transducers emit high-pitched sounds that bounce off your heart and arteries. The soundwaves transmit 3D, real-time images onto the technician’s computer monitor. Later, your cardiologist examines and interprets the images to learn more about your heart.

Dr. Ola Akinboboye — a renowned cardiologist — offers echos in the comfort of our office at Laurelton Heart Specialists in the Rosedale, Queens neighborhood of New York City, New York. The test is fast, painless, and usually only takes 40-90 minutes, depending on what areas Dr. Akinboboye must examine. 

What can an echocardiogram reveal about your heart’s health? Here we describe some of the findings an echo can make.

An echocardiogram determines your heart’s size and shape

When we look at your echo, we can see how large your heart is, how it’s structured, and what shape it is. This information helps us understand more about your heart’s health and, possibly, what’s causing your current symptoms.

For instance, an echo may identify a condition called cardiomegaly, which is an enlarged heart. It also identifies cardiomyopathy, which is another type of thickening and enlarging of the heart. We can look at the various structures of your heart to be sure they’re the right size and working as they should. 

An echocardiogram evaluates your cardiovascular strength

With an echo, we can also check to see if your heart’s valves are working properly. Valve dysfunction may slow your circulation, robbing your body (and your heart) of oxygen and nutrients. An echo can even help determine if you have an infection in a valve, called endocarditis, that could put you at risk for a heart attack.

The echo also lets us evaluate the aorta (through the esophagus) and other arteries that connect to the heart. We look for blockage, such as that caused by atherosclerosis, a clot, or an aneurysm that could threaten your life.

An echo doesn’t just tell us what’s going on with your heart right now. Dr. Akinboboye can also see past events — such as a heart attack — and take those into consideration when making his diagnosis and customizing a treatment plan. 

An echocardiogram shows how your heart deals with stress

When we perform a stress echocardiogram, we do it in two stages. First, we measure your heart at rest. You lie back comfortably on the examination table while we look at how your heart and cardiovascular system work in a normal, calm situation.

Next, we either have you engage in mild exercise — such as walking or jogging on a treadmill — or we give you a medication that increases your heart’s need for oxygen (to mimic stress). We then get to see how your heart responds while under stress, as compared with its resting state.

A stress test can reveal results that aren’t available during the resting state. For instance, stress might reveal problems with the lining of your heart or the inside of your arteries.

An echocardiogram can save your life

When it comes to your heart, the more we know, the better we can help you stop or reverse any damage to protect you from heart attacks or other cardiac events. Once we get the results, Dr. Akinboboye shows you your echocardiograms, discusses what they mean, and makes recommendations to keep your heart healthy.

Do you need an echocardiogram to find out how healthy your heart is? Contact our caring team at Laurelton Heart Specialists by calling 718-208-4816 or using our online outreach form.