Question 1

how reliable is an echocardiogram for diagnosis?

Accepted Answer

Depends: It depends on what you are trying to diagnosis. It is obviously of no use in diagnosing appendicitis. For leakage or a block in a heart valve it is very reliable. Same as for measuring how hard the muscle is contracting or whether the heart chambers are enlarged. It also depends on technical issues. Less reliable if you are 400 pounds or have lung disease.

Question 2

is american society of echocardiography a reliable source for echocardiogram reference values?  is that what most use as a source?

Accepted Answer

Textbooks: Feigenbaum's echocardiography and textbook of clinical echocardiography by catherine otto are a couple of the most commonly used references.

Question 3

in an adult, is an echocardiogram likely to miss a small vsd (small, but causing a murmur)? or is it reliable to rule it out? usually found as child?

Accepted Answer

Depends: If the indication for the echo is "rule out vsd" - the echo is very unlikely to miss it. A routine echo done for other reasons could miss a very small vsd. (btw, a very small vsd doesn't require treatment).

Question 4

is echocardiogram more reliable than ct to diagnose cardiomegaly? chest ct showed mild cardiomegaly but echocardiogram was oaky.

Accepted Answer

CT vs Echo: Both techniques are excellent. The Echo is a bit more cardiac specific but  ask your Doc or cardiologist for more information pertinent to you.

Question 5

which one is the more reliable test: a thalium scan or an echocardiography?

Accepted Answer

Tests: Each test has its own characteristics and what kinds of things it is good at demonstrating. Echocardiography is excellent at showing cardiac anatomy and function. Thallium perfusion scanning is excellent at demonstrating the distribution of perfusion in the myocardium.

Question 6

what does an echocardiogram do?

Accepted Answer

Images the heart: An echocardiogram uses ultrasound waves to deliver a set of moving images of the heart.  It gives us a lot of information about the function (and the strength) of the heart, its valves and the blood flow through the chambers.

Question 7

what does a echocardiogram show?

Accepted Answer

Several things: The heart muscle, the valves, arteries such as the aorta, the four chambers of the heart, fluid around the heart if present, how hard the heart is contracting, whether it is too weak or too thick.

Question 8

how does an echocardiogram function?

Accepted Answer

Ultrasound: An echocardiorgam is a test used to visualize the heart pump functoin and valves in a  non-invasive fashion.  Gel is placed on your chest allowing contact of a visualization probe that delivers ultrasound to your heart that "bounces back" like radar to the probe and to a large computer that can make a 2-d picture of your heart and its blood flow through the valves.

Question 9

how do you falsify an echocardiogram?

Accepted Answer

Not sure: What you mean. The ekg has two readings. The computer generated read is immediate and not always correct. Then an over read by a physician is made and agrees with or corrects and improves the accuracy of the reading. A wrong computer generated read is not a falsification but a weakness in the technology at this point.

Question 10

what does an echocardiogram  look for?

Accepted Answer

Echo: Echo shows cardiac structure and function. It gives a lot of information about the heart. It is a basic test used in cardiologic evaluation and is indicated in many conditions including ischemia.

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Doctor answers about:

How reliable is echocardiogram

A member asked:

How reliable is an echocardiogram for diagnosis?

A member asked:

Is american society of echocardiography a reliable source for echocardiogram reference values? is that what most use as a source?

A member asked:

In an adult, is an echocardiogram likely to miss a small vsd (small, but causing a murmur)? or is it reliable to rule it out? usually found as child?

A member asked:

Is echocardiogram more reliable than ct to diagnose cardiomegaly? chest ct showed mild cardiomegaly but echocardiogram was oaky.

A member asked:

Which one is the more reliable test: a thalium scan or an echocardiography?

A member asked:

What does an echocardiogram do?

A member asked:

What does a echocardiogram show?

A member asked:

How does an echocardiogram function?

A member asked:

How do you falsify an echocardiogram?

A member asked:

What does an echocardiogram look for?

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