ABI Test in Dayton OH | Ankle Brachial Index Testing

Echo Testing An Overview

Echo Testing in Dayton, OH

Echo testing, also known as an echocardiogram, is an ultrasound test utilizing high-pitched waves of sound (echoes) that get transmitted through a device called a transducer. This device catches echoes of sound waves that bounce off the various parts of the heart. The sound waves convert to digital images of the heart.

Also, the pictures created show the heart’s chambers, valves, and walls that supply blood flow to the heart. An echo cannot harm you nor does it hurt you. Additionally, it has no side effects. The Buckeye Heart & Vascular Institute offers Echo testing and many other heart and vascular services to treat and diagnose cardiovascular disease.

Why Do Patients Need An Echo Test?

An echo test helps your doctor learn more about the heart’s structure:

Chamber’s size, wall thickness, and contractility.
The contractility of your heart.
Your heart’s pumping strength.
Regurgitation is blood leaking backward through your heart valves.
Stenosis when the heart valves are too narrow.
If there is a tumor or infectious growth around your heart valves.

An echo test will help your doctor determine:

Problems with the outer lining of your heart, also known as the pericardium.
Evaluate pulmonary artery pressures.
Blood clots in the chambers of your heart.
Abnormal holes between the chambers of the heart.

Echo Testing What to Expect

How To Prepare For An Echo Test?

You don’t need to prepare for this test. You can eat and drink before the test like you usually would. You will not be put to sleep or given sedation medication before the test. This is a non-invasive, painless process.

What Happens During The Echo?

Trained technicians conduct echo tests. The test takes about 45 minutes. You lie on a table while the technician places small metal disks, or electrodes, on your chest. The disks hook to an electrocardiogram, or EKG, that keeps track of your heartbeat during the test.

We place gel on your chest to help sound waves pass through your skin. The technician passes the probe, or transducer, across your chest, which produces sound waves that bounce off your heart and “echo” back to the probe. The sound waves change into pictures on a video monitor. We record this so your doctor can look at them.

Echo Testing FAQs

What is the difference between an EKG and an echo test?: The echo test is an ultrasound of the heart that creates a video of your heart’s structure and functions. The EKG traces the hearts’ rhythm and feeds it back to your doctor. Both tests can be used in concurrence, and at the same appointment.
Can an echo test detect a heart attack?: Yes. Your doctor can use an echo test during, and after, a heart attack to learn how your heart is pumping and what areas aren’t pumping normally. Your doctor also determines what areas of your heart were damaged after the heart attack, and gives you a diagnosis and treatment recommendations.
What does an echo test show that an EKG does not?: An EKG shows when there is an irregularity that associates with a heart attack and heart disease. On the other hand, An echo test accurately evaluates the pumping ability of the heart.
What is a normal ABI index?: A normal ABI ranges from 1.0-1.4. This number means that the blood pressure around your ankle is greater than the pressure in your arm. This is a sign that you do not have blockages inhibiting blood flow.
How long does an ABI test take?: In general, an ABI test takes between 5-10 minutes. In almost 85% of tests performed, it took less than 6 minutes to complete the test.
What does a high ankle-brachial index mean?: If your ABI is high it could mean that you have stiff peripheral arteries. This may be linked to cardiovascular disease.

Echo Test Dayton, OH