Echocardiograms Specialist

What are echocardiograms?

Echocardiograms use sound waves at frequencies so high you can't hear them to build images of the way your heart works. Dr. Muttiana can view your heart beating and pumping blood, which helps him diagnose heart-related symptoms.

The sound waves echocardiogram technology uses work just like those in a regular ultrasound machine that creates images of internal organs and unborn babies.

The sound waves rebound or echo when they contact your heart, which the echocardiogram machine translates into a moving representation.

What types of echocardiograms are there?

Dr. Muttiana uses several types of echocardiogram, including:

Transthoracic echocardiogram

Transthoracic echocardiogram is similar to an abdominal ultrasound. The transducer (handpiece) slides over your skin aided by a special gel. For clearer images, Dr. Muttiana might inject an enhancing agent into your blood that shows up on the scan.

Transesophageal echocardiogram

A transesophageal echocardiogram is one where Dr. Muttiana passes a slim ultrasound transducer down your esophagus until it's level with your heart.

This option might be necessary if a transthoracic echocardiogram can't penetrate properly through an obstruction like excessive fat or scar tissue.

Stress echocardiogram

Sometimes cardiac symptoms are only evident when your heart is working hard. That means a resting electrocardiogram (EKG) or echocardiogram won't detect any abnormalities. A stress echocardiogram monitors your heart while you exercise to pick up on these types of problems.

Doppler echocardiogram

A Doppler echocardiogram detects how the pitch of the sound waves changes when they hit blood cells in your cardiovascular system. Using the Doppler effect, Dr. Muttiana can measure the blood flow rate and direction.

What problems can echocardiograms detect?

The kinds of abnormalities Dr. Muttiana can detect by looking at your echocardiogram include:

• Inadequate pumping action
• Heart muscle damage
• Enlarged heart chambers
• Thickened heart walls
• Valve dysfunctions
• Heart chamber flaws
• Complex congenital heart defects
  
  

Dr. Muttiana can also use echocardiography to identify faulty connections between the heart and your major blood vessels.

By establishing the cause of your symptoms, Dr. Muttiana is able to create a treatment program that addresses the underlying problems and optimizes your rehabilitation.

To take advantage of the state-of-the-art echocardiogram facilities available at Cardiovascular Institute, P.A., call the office or book an appointment online today.