Echocardiogram is simply a sonogram of the heart. Echocardiography can provide excellent images of the heart, paracardiac structures, and the great vessels. Usually it is 2 DimentionalTransThoracic Echocardiography with Color Doppler Study. It is widely used noninvasive cardiology test. It is routinely used in diagnosis, management and follow up of the patient with cardiac diseases.

2D TTE usually done at physician’s office or in the hospital. For a resting 2D TTE, no special preparations are required (in contrast to stress Echo or Trans Esophageal Echo).

During a standard Two-Dimensional resting echo, clothing from the upper body is removed and covered with a gown or sheet to feel you comfortable and to maintain privacy of the female. The patient then lies on a bed or on an examination couch. Sticky patches are attached to the shoulders and chest for connection to ECG cables and wires. Theses helps to record the electrocardiogram during the test.The echo transducer (probe) was put on different areas of the chest over colourless jelly. It sends out sound waves, which are reflected back by the muscles and tissues in your heart. These reflected waves are picked up by the transducer and translate into images on a screen.These images appear in black and white and in color on a monitor. They are reviewed and interpreted by a specialist. A Doppler echo is often done at the same time in order to determine how the blood flows in your heart. The swishing sounds you hear during the test indicate blood flowing through the valves and chambers. Echocardiography is usually performed by cardiac sonographers, cardiac physiologists or doctors trained in echocardiography.

An echocardiography is a painless test that takes roughly 30-45 minutes.