Ultrasound can also be used to see the heart

Echocardiography is one of the most widely used procedures for diagnosing heart disorders because it is non-invasive, safe, relatively inexpensive, widely available, and provides excellent images of the heart.

Echocardiography is a diagnostic procedure that uses high-frequency ultrasound waves, similar to those used to take sonograms of a fetus, that are bounced off the heart to produce a moving image of this vital organ, says Dr. Greg Rogelio, chief of the Diagnostics and Instrumentation Division of St. Luke’s Heart Institute.

The ultrasound waves are emitted by a handheld probe called a transducer. The doctor places gel on the chest and moves the transducer over the area of the heart as a computer analyzes the rebounding waves to create images of the heart displayed on a monitor.

By varying the placement and angle of the transducer, doctors can view the heart and nearby major blood vessels from various angles and thus get an accurate picture of heart structure and function, Rogelio says.

Dr. Marietta Crisostomo, head of the Echocardiography Department, says the advent of 3D echocardiography technology allows a more accurate, fast, easy and measurable assessment of the different structures of the heart that reduces the guesswork from interpreting images that are produced by other technologies.

Both Rogelio and Crisostomo trained under Dr. Natesa Pandian in the Cardiovascular Imaging and Hemodynamic Laboratory of Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts to further their expertise in 3D echocardiography.

The St. Luke’s Medical Center is the only hospital in the Philippines that performs 3D echocardiography using the Philips iE33 Echocardiography System, a new generation of cardiac ultrasound equipment that uses high-definition imaging that allows physicians to diagnose heart disease and provides data analysis tools that help doctors make treatment decisions and monitor their success.

With the growing number of patients with congestive heart failure, congenital and valvular heart diseases, cutting-edge diagnostic tools such as 3D echocardiography play an increasingly significant role in helping cardiologists arrive at fast and accurate diagnoses.

For details, log on to www.stluke.com.ph.

The St. Luke’s Heart Institute is holding an Echocardiography Postgraduate Course on Dec. 7 and 8 at the 2/F Conference Room, St. Luke’s Medical Center. 

Topics will cover the basic principles of echocardiography, valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, and pericardial disease, cardiac tumors and diseases of the great vessels. 

For details on the postgraduate course, call 723-0101/0301 extension 5402.