2D ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY WITH COLOR DOPLER TEST - WHATS AND HOWS!

The ultrasound technique of clicking pictures of the heart and its valves and surrounding structures is known as Two-dimensional echocardiography. It is the cross-sectional slice of organ and blood vessel of the heart.

Since the solid and fluid organ conducts sounds, and bone and air do not so it provides a deep dense and dark areas. Air on the other hand has this classic shimmering effect which is a mixture of echoic and hypoechoic areas. The common propositions of the two-dimensional echo tests are fanning from left to right, rotation around a perpendicular axis and angling and sliding.

This type of echocardiography with color dopler test helps in determining the flow of blood vessels through color pixeled lines, i.e. red for towards the transducer and blue indicates away from it.

Procedure for the test : the following are the steps for the test :

• The patient is required to lie down on his left side,
• Colorless gel applied to the chest of the patient,
• The transducer felt across the chest for getting views from different angles,
• Usually, a 15 to 35 minutes test but may take longer for people with heart disease,
• Then the recorded lines are viewed on the monitor and taken print on a paper at high quality.

Instructions to the patients : it is a non-invasive method and is comfortable and a verified and safe method of echocardiography. However, the only few things they need to keep in mind are :

• Wear loose-fitting clothes for easy application of a gel,
• Breathe slowly or hold it during the conduct of the test, as per the instruction of the doctor to help in providing better quality images.

End Results : the results of this test show the following :

• The size of the heart and its functioning and its condition,
• The speed and direction of blood flow within the chambers of the heart,
• Detect any abnormality in the valves or its leakage,
• This test also helps in studying the large areas of blood flow.

Importance of this test : this test is helpful to the surgeons and cardiologists as it :

• Helps in measuring the size of the chambers of the heart and the thickness of the wall,
• The pumping function of the heart,
• Changes in the heart due to longstanding hypertension.
• And also detect the potential cause of heart attacks.