Echocardiography (Eko)

Echocardiography (Eko)

Echo is a quick and harmless test that gives important information about the heart.

Eko provides information on the following topics:

- Heart valve diseases,
- Left heart enlargement,
- Clot in the left ventricle,
- EF (Ejection fraction): The human heart fills with blood, it throws a certain percentage of the blood in it with contraction. Normal is 55% and above.
- heart wall movements,
- Heart chamber sizes,
- Pressures inside the heart and much more information.

The technique used in Echo can be explained as follows:

- Ultrasound is used. Ultrasound is a sound beyond the hearing limit of the human ear (18 000 - 20 000 cycle/sec).
- These sound waves are sent to the heart with the help of a sound-sensitive device that is held in the form of a tube and moved around the patient's chest.
- Sound waves return to the instrument through the heart walls, muscles, valves.
- The sound waves returning from the heart are translated into pictures with a computer and printed on paper if desired, as well as viewed from the monitor.

The advantages of this test are:

- There are many clinics.
- Paint or radioactive elements, needles are not used. There is no pain.
- It is a test that is cheaper than the MUGA test and can be done in most places.

The disadvantages of Echo are:

- The tester's ability affects the accuracy of the test results.
- It is not a suitable test to examine the right side of the heart.