Echocardiography (ECHO)

It is the visualisation of the heart with high frequency sound waves (ultrasoud-ultrasound).
Ultrasound (ultrasound waves) is utilised. Ultrasound waves are a sound beyond the hearing limit of the human ear.

The sound waves are sent to the heart with the help of a tube-shaped hand-held sound-sensitive device that is moved around the patient’s chest.

The sound waves are sent back to the device through the heart walls, muscles and valves.
Different tissues reflect sound waves in different ways. Thus, the sound waves returning from the heart are converted into images with the help of a computer programme and these images can be printed on special paper as well as viewed on the monitor.

Heart valve diseases, diameters of the heart cavities, whether they are large or not, movements of the heart walls, whether there is a movement disorder, intracardiac pressures, heart enlargement, heart failure, measurement of prosthetic valve functions in patients who have undergone heart valve surgery, heart-derived clot research in stroke survivors, heart valve problems due to rheumatic valve disease, non-rheumatic diseases of the heart valves (thickening, narrowing, insufficiency, blood leakage), investigation of thickening in the heart muscle (due to blood pressure or congenital), measurement of pressure in the vein leading to the lung (pulmonary hypertension detection), detection of heart holes, detection of heart tumours, investigation of clots (thrombus) in the intracardiac cavities, pathological changes in the aortic vessels (aneurysm-ballooning and rupture), heart rheumatism, valvular diseases, heart failure, heart attack, congenital heart diseases.

It provides important information especially about the valve and wall movements of the heart.
No dye, radioactive material or needle is used, it is painless and not harmful for the patient.
In some people, echo images may not provide sufficient images due to the structure of the person.