Patient's question:
Today I had an echocardiogram, and it was said that there is a hole in the heart. There was echocardiographic dropout in the middle of the interatrial septum (about 1.8). The diagnosis is atrial septal defect (left-to-right shunt). I would like to ask everyone, under what circumstances is an echocardiogram performed?Doctor's answer:
An echocardiogram primarily checks for structural abnormalities in the heart, valve stenosis, blood flow, and other conditions. An echocardiogram can detect the size of the atria and ventricles, the closure of valves, and the direction of blood flow. Therefore, before undergoing an echocardiogram, other tests such as an electrocardiogram (ECG), X-ray, or auscultation are usually performed to suspect the aforementioned conditions, and then echocardiography is chosen for examination. Currently, an echocardiogram is the only instrument that can visually display valve abnormalities.