🩺 Echocardiography: Heart Ultrasound
Echocardiography, often referred to as an "echo" or a "cardiac ultrasound," is a non-invasive test that uses high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to create live, moving images of the heart. It is one of the most widely used and essential diagnostic tools in cardiology.
How Echocardiography Works
Sound Waves: A small device called a transducer (or probe) is placed on the chest, often with a lubricating gel. It emits ultrasonic sound waves.
Echoes: These sound waves travel through the chest and bounce, or "echo," off the different structures of the heart (chambers, valves, walls).
Image Creation: The transducer captures the returning echoes. A connected computer processes these echoes into dynamic, real-time images displayed on a monitor.