A Guide To Your Ultrasound Or Echocardiogram

What Is Ultrasound?

Ultrasound is a simple, safe and effective procedure that helps diagnose many medical conditions. It uses sound waves to produce a picture of organs and other structures inside the body. There are no known side effects, and the procedure does not require any special dyes or radiation. An echocardiogram is an ultrasound procedure of your heart.

During an ultrasound, a sonographer passes a small handheld instrument called a transducer back and forth over the area of your body being examined. The transducer emits and detects sound wave frequencies too high for us to hear. As the sound waves penetrate the body, they are reflected back by its structures. A computer analyzes the sound waves that are reflected by structures in your body and converts them into a picture that is displayed on a video monitor.

Is It Safe?

Sound waves do not cause pain and there are no confirmed adverse effects. There is no radiation used during an ultrasound examination.

Why Is Ultrasound Used?

Ultrasound can help detect, diagnose or monitor many conditions. The following is a general indication of the types of conditions ultrasound is used to detect and is not meant to be all-inclusive.

Heart Problems

• Detects clots within the heart
• Evaluates damage after a heart attack
• Diagnoses heart defects, an enlarged heart, and heart and artery diseases
• Determines the blood flow through the heart and its vessels
• Evaluates the thickness of the chambers of the heart
• Determines the origin of a heart murmur

Abdominal Disorders

• Detects gallstones
• Checks for problems in the liver, kidneys, pancreas or spleen
• Monitors the success of a kidney transplant
• Determines the blood flow through the heart and its vessels
• Evaluates the thickness of the chambers of the heart
• Determines the origin of a heart murmur

Blood Vessel Problems

• Locates enlargements in vessels that could burst and cause internal bleeding
• Detects a narrowing of the main artery leading to the brain, which could lead to a stroke

Eye Disorders

• Detect swelling, bleeding or foreign objects in the eye

Cancer

• Locates lumps in organs or tissues
• Often shows the difference between fluid-filled cysts and cancerous tumors
• Guides a needle biopsy (removal of tissue using a needle rather than surgery)
• Helps detect prostate cancer and monitors treatment

Pelvic Disorders

• Determines the cause of pain or bleeding in a woman's reproductive organs

Other Ultrasound Uses

• Breast imaging
• Prostate imaging
• Thyroid gland examinations

Ultrasound And Pregnancy

Ultrasound is a key tool in checking a baby's health and development. It is safe for both mother and baby.

Ultrasound can provide information about:

• Size and growth rate
• Position of the baby and placenta
• Movement, breathing and heart rate
• Amount of amniotic fluid (It can also assist with amniocentesis, a procedure in which a needle is used to remove amniotic fluid for further study)

Ultrasound can help detect:.

• Multiple babies
• Certain birth defects and other conditions that could lead to problems during pregnancy or delivery

Transvaginal Ultrasound

• Used very early in the pregnancy, before an abdominal ultrasound can clearly show the baby and the mother's reproductive organs

Doppler Ultrasound

• Used to check the baby's heartbeat
• In some cases, it is used to monitor the baby's health during labor and delivery

Special Types Of Ultrasound

Doppler Ultrasound

• Can show movement inside the body, such as blood flowing or the heart beating

Echocardiography

• Used to study the heart and its surrounding structures. It can provide information about the heart's size, shape and function
• Often combined with Doppler Ultrasound
• It can also be performed with a special transducer that is passed down the esophagus

Transvaginal And Transrectal Ultrasound

• Provides better images than traditional ultrasound or other diagnostic methods through the insertion of smaller, specially designed transducers into the vagina or rectum

What Can I Expect?

A standard ultrasound exam is simple. A sonographer will gather basic information from you, then position you on an exam table. A gel or liquid will be applied to the skin over the area being examined to improve the quality of the images. A transducer (wand-type instrument) will be passed over the area several times. Depending on your exam, you might be asked to remain still, change positions, hold your breath or do simple breathing exercises. After the procedure, the sonographer will remove the gel from your skin.

Most exams take 30-60 minutes. There is no pain involved, but you might feel mild pressure from the transducer, some discomfort from lying or sitting in certain positions, or some discomfort from having a full bladder.

How Do I Prepare?

Dress comfortably. You might be given a hospital gown and asked to undress from the waist up or the waist down.

Fill or empty your bladder. While some ultrasounds, such as transvaginal ultrasound, work best when the bladder is empty, others work better with a full bladder. Follow your physician's instructions.

For pelvic or obstetrical exams, finish drinking six glasses of liquid one hour prior to the beginning of your exam. Do not empty your bladder until the exam is completed.

Eat or drink according to your physician's instructions. Since ultrasound does not pass through gases, you might have to fast for several hours to eliminate gas for abdominal exams. Other exams have no restrictions.

For abdominal exams, do not chew gum, eat or drink after midnight the day before your exam. Avoid gas-producing food or drinks.

An enema is necessary for prostate exams unless otherwise ordered by your physician.

Other recommendations. You might be told not to wear lotions, powder or deodorants. If you smoke, you might be required to not do so for a certain amount of time.

How Do I Get The Results?

Your exam results will be sent to your physician, who will discuss them with you.

If you have any questions or comments about your ultrasound at any time, please talk to your physician or inform the sonographer. We want to make you as comfortable with the exam as possible.