About Echocardiography
Perhaps the most versatile test in cardiology, an echocardiogram uses ultrasound waves to create images of the heart as it is beating, giving us information on the strength of the heart, the size of the different chambers, and the function of the valves that are the gateway between different heart chambers. Special ultrasound waves called “Doppler” can measure blood flow velocity and allow us to calculate pressure levels inside the different parts of the heart. Echocardiography can also be combined with exercise—stress echocardiography—to assess whether the heart is getting good blood flow.