Echocardiogram

An echocardiogram (also called a “surface, or transthoracic (across the chest) echocardiogram”, an “echo” or “sonogram” of the heart) is a painless, non-invasive (the skin is not pierced) test that uses inaudible sound waves (ultrasound) to produce images of your heart.  This commonly used test allows your doctor to see how your heart is beating and pumping blood.  Your doctor can use the images from an echocardiogram to identify various abnormalities in the structure and function of your heart muscle and valves.