An echocardiogram is a test that uses sound waves to create a
moving picture of the heart. The picture is much more detailed
than a plain x-ray image and involves no radiation exposure.
Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE); Echocardiogram -
transthoracic; Doppler ultrasound of the heart; Surface echo How
the test is performed TRANSTHORACIC ECHOCARDIOGRAM (TTE) TTE is
the type of echocardiogram that most people will have. A trained
sonographer performs the test, then a heart doctor interprets
the results. An instrument called a transducer that releases
high-frequency sound waves is placed on your ribs near the
breast bone and directed toward the heart. Other images will be
taken underneath and slightly to the left of your nipple and in
the upper abdomen. The transducer picks up the echoes of sound
waves and transmits them as electrical impulses. The
echocardiography machine converts these impulses into moving
pictures of the heart. Pictures can be two-dimensional or three-
dimensional, depending on the part of th