Preparation
As the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute explains, echocardiograms are non-invasive (meaning that they don't require the skin to be broken) and painless procedures that require little, if any preparation beforehand. In general, patients can simply show up at the doctor's office the day of the procedure. Sometimes doctors schedule a special kind of echocardiogram called a trans-esophageal echoacardiogram, which involves sticking a tube down into the patient's stomach. This generally means that the patient should avoid eating for at least eight hours before the procedure. Some doctors also do "stress" echocardiograms, which observe the patient's heart during physical exertion, and the patient may receive special instructions for that procedure.
Procedure
According to Medline, when a patient comes to the doctor's office for an echocardiogram, he will be asked to take off his shirt and lie on a special bed. Electrodes will be attached to the patient so that an EKG (which measures electrical activity in the heart) can be performed while the echocardiogram is being taken. A technician or specialist will then put a clear gel on the patient's chest; this is done to help keep out any air between the patient's body and the transducer (part of the echocardiogram machine), which will help maximize the signal. Then the technician will place the transducer on the patient's chest and move the transducer around and at different angles. The whole procedure takes about 45 minutes.
Analysis
Echocardiograms use high frequency sound waves to visualize your heart while it is pumping. Often the data produced from an echocardiogram comes as a video, which can be displayed in real-time on a monitor. Typically this video is then sent to a cardiologist, who reviews it and looks for any abnormalities or injured areas that could signify heart damage or cardiovascular disease. After the cardiologist has reviewed it she will contact the patient with her summary of the results.
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