Echocardiogram

Imaging Care to Support Your Heart Health

Caring for your heart involves frequent monitoring. At Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital–Needham, our heart specialists offer echocardiogram (echo) scans to monitor your heart health. Echocardiograms are a type of ultrasound. Our heart specialists work closely with our imaging team, including ultrasound specialists.

Leading-Edge Technology for Monitoring Heart Health

An echocardiogram can help diagnose and monitor various heart conditions. When you have a scan, our doctors are specially trained to review and interpret the results to identify any issues.

Our specialists offer the following types of echocardiograms:

• Transthoracic (surface), which uses ultrasound tools to take moving images of your heart. It’s the most common type of echocardiogram.
• Transesophageal, which involves inserting a small instrument into your throat to take images of your heart.
• Stress, which uses ultrasound to see how your heart works under stress from exercise or medication.
• Contrast, which uses a dye injected in your vein to help your provider see your heart better on ultrasound.