How to Prepare for an Echocardiogram: A Patient Guide

If your doctor has ordered an echocardiogram, you’re about to have one of the most informative and completely painless tests available for evaluating your heart. An echocardiogram uses sound waves — not radiation — to create detailed, moving pictures of your heart in real time, showing how your chambers contract, how your valves open and close, how blood flows through your heart, and how strong your heart’s pumping function is.