A known complication of cardiovascular disease is myocardial infarction heart attack and stroke. If any of the four heart valves are not opening or closing properly, it may be a sign of heart valve disease, which can affect blood flow to your heart. Symptoms of heart valve disease are chest pain, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, and fatigue. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy HCM is a disease of the heart muscles that cause the walls of the heart to thicken.
This obstruction can cause blood flow to decrease, which causes the heart to work much harder to pump blood. Another condition that prevents the normal pumping of blood through the heart is pericardial effusion, which is the build-up of fluid in the heart that may be due to a heart attack, an infection of heart tissue, cancer, and complications following heart surgery. Symptoms include bulging neck veins, swelling in the arms, nausea, and fainting. Abnormal echocardiogram results help doctors determine if further testing is necessary or if you need to be placed on a treatment plan.
When it comes to your heart, there is no room for taking risks. We understand how frightening and worrisome symptoms associated with your heart health can be. For an appointment with our physicians, you can submit an appointment request now. Echo also can help your doctor find the cause of abnormal heart sounds, such as heart murmurs. Heart murmurs are extra or unusual sounds heard during the heartbeat.
Some heart murmurs are harmless, while others are signs of heart problems. Your doctor also might recommend echo to see how well your heart responds to certain heart treatments, such as those used for heart failure. There are several types of echocardiography echo —all use sound waves to create moving pictures of your heart. This is the same technology that allows doctors to see an unborn baby inside a pregnant woman.
Transthoracic tranz-thor-AS-ik echo is the most common type of echocardiogram test. It's painless and noninvasive. This type of echo involves placing a device called a transducer on your chest. The device sends special sound waves, called ultrasound, through your chest wall to your heart. The human ear can't hear ultrasound waves.
As the ultrasound waves bounce off the structures of your heart, a computer in the echo machine converts them into pictures on a screen. Stress echo is done as part of a stress test.
During a stress test, you exercise or take medicine given by your doctor to make your heart work hard and beat fast. A technician will use echo to create pictures of your heart before you exercise and as soon as you finish. Some heart problems, such as coronary heart disease , are easier to diagnose when the heart is working hard and beating fast.
Your doctor may have a hard time seeing the aorta and other parts of your heart using a standard transthoracic echo. During this test, the transducer is attached to the end of a flexible tube. The tube is guided down your throat and into your esophagus the passage leading from your mouth to your stomach.
This allows your doctor to get more detailed pictures of your heart. Fetal echo is used to look at an unborn baby's heart. A doctor may recommend this test to check a baby for heart problems. When recommended, the test is commonly done at about 18 to 22 weeks of pregnancy. For this test, the transducer is moved over the pregnant woman's belly. A three-dimensional 3D echo creates 3D images of your heart.
These detailed images show how your heart looks and works. During transthoracic echo or TEE, 3D images can be taken as part of the process used to do these types of echo. See above for more information about how transthoracic echo and TEE are done.
Doctors may use 3D echo to diagnose heart problems in children. They also may use 3D echo for planning and overseeing heart valve surgery. Echocardiography echo is done in a doctor's office or a hospital. No special preparations are needed for most types of echo. You usually can eat, drink, and take any medicines as you normally would. The exception is if you're having a transesophageal echo. This test usually requires that you don't eat or drink for 8 hours prior to the test.
If you're having a stress echo, you may need to take steps to prepare for the stress test. Your doctor will let you know what steps you need to take. Echocardiography echo is painless; the test usually takes less than an hour to do.
For some types of echo, your doctor will need to inject saline or a special dye into one of your veins. The substance makes your heart show up more clearly on the echo pictures.
The dye used for echo is different from the dye used during angiography a test used to examine the body's blood vessels. For most types of echo, you will remove your clothing from the waist up. Women will be given a gown to wear during the test. You'll lie on your back or left side on an exam table or stretcher.
Soft, sticky patches called electrodes will be attached to your chest to allow an EKG electrocardiogram to be done. An EKG is a test that records the heart's electrical activity. A doctor or sonographer a person specially trained to do ultrasounds will apply gel to your chest. The gel helps the sound waves reach your heart. A wand-like device called a transducer will then be moved around on your chest. The transducer transmits ultrasound waves into your chest.
A computer will convert echoes from the sound waves into pictures of your heart on a screen. During the test, the lights in the room will be dimmed so the computer screen is easier to see. The illustration shows a patient having echocardiography. The patient lies on his left side.
I had started using coconut oil over the last few years and was very surprised to read the reports last week basically saying it is no better than other so called harmful saturated fats. It is extremely annoying how recommendations change so frequently and makes it hard to take many nutritional recommendations seriously. In my opinion, if part of a healthy diet with low carb in general, coconut oil is very reasonable.
Given the large amount of people we have been able to help here, we are starting a twitter to help keep heart patients up to date with advances and relevant information.
Mine can be followed at MustafaAhmedMD. The reason that a single advisory statement from the American Heart Association claimed that coconut oil was to be avoided was because it is mostly saturated fats. Saturated fats are bad because they increase LDL. Increased LDL is bad because it is associated with heart disease. In other words, it increases lifespan by a few days, and statins have significant side effects.
On the other hand statins show no benefit for women. There is ongoing controversy about whether saturated fats are harmful or lead to heart disease. My understanding of the best new research is that saturated fats are not harmful, but processed vegetable oils, especially those having trans fats, definitely are.
All fdats are not equivalent. This is hard for nutritionists to swallow. What are the practical consequences of eating saturated fats? Their ratio of Total Cholesterol to HDL will probably end up less than 3, meaning they would have about half the average risk for heart disease of someone their age. The AHA advisory has been attacked for selecting only four studies that support its claim while rejecting many more that refute it, but this is typical of the confusion that classical nutritionists spew out.
The many research papers and personal experience of Atkins-type dieters should reassure you that you can eat all the coconut oil you want.
Bon apetite. Thank you Tumblemark. Too much white stuff on the screen for my liking. I just saw a show on Dr Oz about this. I can only speak from my experience. I stopped adding a teaspoon or two of Coconut Oil to my coffee each morning and stopped eating shrimp.
My total cholesterol dropped from to in three months. For me, that answered my question because my PCP could not answer it for me. Dear Dr. I sent reports on email: [email protected].
What is the purpose of a stress echo? I saw a cardiothoracic surgeon yesterday. He told me that my aortic stenosis is in surgery range. We both agree I am not quite sick enough yet for surgery. My cardiologist is planning next echo in December or January. This surgeon told me he is going to ask my cardiologist to do a stress echo the next time.
What is the difference? A stress echo may be used in aortic stenosis when there is ambiguity as to the severity of the disease or if the severity is borderline. The stress exercise or dobutamine may be used to see if the disease is pushed in to a clear severe range that may explain symptoms at time of exertion.
It simulates the active state. Thank you so much. This makes a lot of sense. You explanation is very thorough. Last time was 10 years ago. Agradecida por su comentario. I had an echocardiogram last year from the appearance of heart palpitations that take my breath away sometimes. I am a 51 year old female that in mid October went to my primary care doctor for visible swelling below my left rib cage.
I was sent for two CT Scans, abdominal and chest and was told I had a mild pericardial effusion and gastritis. A few days later, I started feeling awful and started getting nauseated and stomach sick.
My echocardiogram was normal and my effusion measured. Since then, I have had an endoscope and two of those, colonoscopy, hiatal gallbladder scan, gallbladder sonogram, gastric emptying test and and MRI.
I still have the effusion witch measured 1 cm on MRI and a very inflamed stomach wall. My GI doctor has released me from GI issues and says I need a rheumatologist for a Lupus diagnosis even though my blood tests came back negative. My swelling under the rib cage is larger, I am still nauseated and wondering if I should see a cardiologist before rheumatologist. My white count has dropped to the week of Christmas but was when all this began in mid October.
Can you give a suggestion on a route to take? The swelling is bothersome as well as nausea. Oh, I have also lost 14 pounds since this started. Thank you. If you are worried it will not hurt you to seek cardiology evaluation. The pericardial effusion is described as small and not likely related to the swelling on the chest wall. The situation sounds complex. I would ask your primary care dr if they feel a referral to a cardiologist is appropriate. Root cause.. My life..?? What do patients do when the MD says a echo really needs to be done but the pt.
Is their another test that can be done that insurance would cover? My ekg shows some questionable changes such as QRS changes and a inverted T wave! It sucks being poor.
Thank u. Hello i had an echo done and the results given to a cardiologist. The results show my measurements are in normal range but the technician put hypertensive heart disease. The cardiologist said I was just hypertensive and gave me meds but my symptoms are worrying me. What do I do? The cardiologist is very good though. Hypertensive signs on an echo may include generalized wall thickening and the concern over time is that the function can depress.
For this reason, the blood pressure control over time is key. That is the only real treatment. I just has a nuclear stress test- passed this test, Calcium score test- some calcium present, and now I just had an echo test. I was told normal blood flow from echo, abnormal wall movement, and not I need to see a cardiologist.
I am on blood pressure medications- which have helped greatly, and now a cholesterol pill. I am stressing out over what might be next. Any thoughts? Disclaimer: The comment response is opinion and in no way affiliated with my employer. It is a vague response that is not to be used as direct medical advice and in no way should replace the opinion of a medical provider.
My question really is can the measurements of the heart and ecg readings show hypertensive heart disease. Can you tell the state of the heart from that as a cardiologist presented with those things. Am 33 years old very active weightlifting running and basketball for most of my life am height and weigh in 84 kg. Your answer would be greatly appreciated. The first thing to do is have the interpreting practitioner look at the study and determine the accuracy of the reading.
Its also important to have them draw volumes if they feel there is any abnormal values. In what time would you recommend for me to retake the exam? Once again many thanks for your time and help. I am a 43 year old male and I am overweight. Last year June I had a stress echo done and everything had come back good.
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