If you experience chest pain, shortness of breath, severe pain radiating down your left arm, or left jaw pain, seek emergency medical assistance because these symptoms may be related to cardiovascular disease. To help rule out heart disorders, the emergency room physician or cardiologist may rely on GE ultrasound machines to take pictures of your heart. A cardiac ultrasound imaging test is known as an echocardiogram. Here are some things you should know about your echocardiogram.
Safety Profile
GE ultrasound machines are thought to be very safe. The machines use gentle soundwaves to capture pictures of the heart, aorta, and other surrounding structures. Unlike regular xrays, an echocardiogram ultrasound machine does not rely on ionizing radiation for generating images of bones and internal organs. Because of this, radiation is not emitted during the test. Echocardiogram ultrasound tests are considered safe for people of all ages.
Preparation
Unlike certain other diagnostic tests such as colonoscopy, an echocardiogram requires no pre-procedure preparation. If, however, you take certain prescription medications such as antiarrhythmic drugs to control an irregular heartbeat your doctor may advise you to skip your regular dose on the day of your echocardiogram test. This is because these medications can raise the risk of false-positive or false-negative test results. The reason for this is that these drugs can mask certain heart disorders such as tachycardia, bradycardia, and atrial fibrillation.
To learn more about echocardiogram ultrasound machines, contact Ultra Select Medical
