DIAGNOSIS / IMAGING: ULTRASOUND / ECHOCARDIOGRAM

Ultrasound sends sound waves into the body, which are reflected back to the ultrasound machine to create an image. These images are a useful way to examine many of the body’s internal organs.

Echocardiogram, often referred to as a cardiac echo or simply an echo, is a sonogram of the heart. (It is not abbreviated as ECG, which in medicine usually refers to an electrocardiogram.) Echocardiography uses standard two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and Doppler ultrasound to create images of the heart.