 An echocardiogram is a sonography of the heart.
Also known as a cardiac ultrasound, it uses standard ultrasound techniques
to image two-dimensional slices of the heart. The latest ultrasound systems
now employ three-dimensional real-time imaging.
In addition to creating two-dimensional pictures of the cardiovascular
system, an echocardiogram can also produce accurate assessment of the velocity
of blood and cardiac tissue at any arbitrary point using pulsed or continuous
wave Doppler ultrasound. This allows assessment of cardiac valve areas and
function, any abnormal communications between the left and right side of
the heart, any leaking of blood through the valves (valvular regurgitation),
and calculation of the cardiac output as well as the ejection fraction.
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