As a vital solid organ in your body, the heart pumps blood across blood vessels covering thousands of miles. Also, according to Harvard University, on average, the pumping mechanism is repeated about 100 times daily. Because the heart is prone to numerous issues, you will undergo an echocardiogram Upper East Side if you visit your doctor. An echo or an echocardiogram relies on the power of the ultrasound to view the working and structures of your heart.
The live images from the diagnostic instrument can help a cardiologist understand the size of your heart. It also enables your heart doctor to observe any changes that affect its chambers or how it dilates or pumps blood. Below is a look at the heart conditions that can lead to your doctor recommending an echocardiogram.
1. Heart attack
The American Heart Association approximates that over 855,000 Americans experience heart attacks annually. Seek prompt emergency care if you have silent symptoms indicating an impending heart attack or have already suffered an attack.
That is because the heart issue involves an area of your heart not getting a healthy volume of oxygen-rich blood.
Without an adequate supply of nutrients like oxygen, the tissues and muscles of the affected part of your heart will begin dying. Treatment can help restore the normal delivery of nutrients to the heart and save you from death.
2. The murmuring of the heart
It is normal for your heart to produce a sound as it contracts and relaxes to generate enough pressure for blood flow. Sometimes though, your heart can be pumping and produce an unusual sound. The murmuring sound is released due to rapid blood flow, particularly through its valves.
Heart murmuring can result from conditions your doctor can easily treat, like anemia. Still, the unusual sound from your heart can also indicate a serious medical problem like ongoing heart failure. Heart failure can result from physical trauma you get through an accident.
3. Pain in the chest
You can have chest pain because a heart muscle does not receive sufficient blood supply. That can happen if you have an excessive accumulation of cholesterol deposits in the arterial walls of your heart.
However, external factors such as infections or an accident that tears your heart arteries can also contribute to pain in your chest. A torn blood vessel will minimize the blood that reaches or gets out of the heart.
If you undergo an echo, your doctor can observe how your blood flows into and out of the heart. That lets your health provider know if a heart problem is causing your chest pain and discomfort.
4. Diseased heart valves
The heart has four chambers with valves that allow blood to flow forward and not backward. But, if the heart’s valves are diseased and thus function incorrectly, blood can flow backward.
As the blood tries to flow backward, the heart has to put more effort into directing blood to flow forward. A heart that is strained is at risk of damaging its muscles.
Contact Upper East Side Cardiology today to schedule an appointment with a specialist that can diagnose heart problems.
