Having an Echo (Echocardiogram)

In October of 2018 I had open heart surgery to correct a congenital heart defect. This is a post in a series of posts about different tests you may have. If you haven’t already check out the rest of my test posts.  These posts will be helpful if you are having these tests and want to know what to expect. Want to know the whole story? Check out my Introduction post.

An echo is an ultrasound of you heart. Before you have this test you will put on a gown that opens in the front. Usually ultrasounds are in a dark room. To do the test first the nurse will put ultrasound jelly on this special wand thing. The jelly feels cold and sticky on your chest. When they do the echo they will move the wand around your chest and stomach, the wand takes pictures. Sometimes they push too hard, but all you have to do is ask them to push gentler. The whole thing usually take less than half an hour. You can usually ask to see the ultrasound and the nurse will show you the pictures.