QUESTIONS & ANSWERS: GLOSSARY

Echocardiography

The timing of rebounds within the heart of sound waves, which are of such high frequency as to be inaudible to the human ear (ultrasound), are analysed to build up a picture of the structure (anatomy) of the heart. The method is not sensitive enough to give pictures of the coronary arteries but can show the damage in the working heart caused by block of the coronary arteries. The ultrasound probe may be placed on the front of the chest (trans-thoracic echocardiography) or passed down the gullet (trans-oesophageal echocardiography, TOE) to view the heart from different angles. Ultrasound examination avoids the radiation hazard of X-rays.

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