Cardiac Ultrasound | Ultrasound

Cardiac Ultrasound (or Echocardiography)

What comes to mind to many they hear about an ultrasound is that they would immediately imagine a pregnant woman having an image made of the foetus in her womb. This, of course is one of the very important uses of ultrasound imaging, but it is certainly not the only one. As a matter of fact, far less than half of the ultrasounds done are in obstetrics!

The applications and uses of the ultrasound technology are many. It is used in many different areas of medicine for diagnostic purposes and can be used in guiding procedures that are preformed. Besides just to see a growing fetus, ultrasounds are used to view various tissues: muscles tendons and ligaments, as well as organs and bones throughout the body.

One very important use is in vascular studies. Ultrasound can be used to study the veins and arteries. Using it, doctors can locate blockages such as blood clots and plaque and can see tumors and gather information about them and their effects.

The type of ultrasound used in vascular ultrasound is Doppler. Doppler ultrasound uses Doppler measurements to track blood. These lower frequency waves are able to see the movement of blood. A spectral Doppler plots information graphically, a power Doppler displays a picture, and a color Doppler can display blood flowing through different veins and arteries in different colors, indicating the direction of blood flow. It can also determine the velocity of the flow.

Indeed one of the most vital uses is in cardiac ultrasound. A more typical term for the cardiac ultrasound is an echocardiogram. This is simply an ultrasound conducted on the heart. It requires no special actions by the patient, as the ultrasound is taken through the chest.

An echocardiogram can be taken in a typical 2D or 3D imaging. For a 3D image, rather than sending sound waves straight into the heart, they are sent at different angles and then pieced together by computer software to create the 3D picture.

Doctors can learn some important information a cardiac ultrasound and looking at the image of the cardiovascular system is to assess the velocity of the blood flow and look at the cardiac tissue. They can assess the cardiac valve areas and whether their function is normal or not. It can also detect any blood leaking through the valves and determine if there may be irregular communication between different sides of the heart. It can also determine cardiac output and other necessary information in determining the level of health of the heart and to determining the necessary steps to take to solve any problems.

Many lives are saved everyday because of information obtained from cardiac ultrasounds. This is an invaluable tool in the medical field.

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