An ultrasound image of the heart made by inserting a small device called a transducer into the esophagus (the tube that connects the throat to the stomach). An echocardiogram bounces ultrasound waves off the heart and into a machine that transforms the echoes into a computer generated image. This allows doctors to see the heart while it is moving and to observe its main pumping chambers, the shape and thickness of the chamber walls, the valves, the outer covering, and the major vessels leading in and out of the heart. It is also possible to determine the volume and direction of blood flow through the heart. An echocardiogram is useful for assessing the size of the heart, its pumping strength, valve problems, damage to the heart muscle, abnormal blood flow patterns, structural abnormalities (such as enlargement of the heart, or cardiomegaly), and blood pressure in the artery leading to the lungs.
A diagnostic technique involving the insertion of an imaging device to visualize the motion, valves, and chambers of the heart. This procedure employs high-frequency sound waves emitted by a compact transducer that is gently guided down the patient’s throat. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is often performed alongside Doppler ultrasound to assess the blood circulation across the heart’s valves.