If a patient is showing signs of heart failure, the provider may order an echocardiogram. This test gives providers a sense of how well the heart chambers and valves are working. An echocardiogram uses sound waves to create a picture that shows how well the heart is filling with blood and pumping it to the rest of the body. It can also show the areas of the heart muscle that are not contracting normally. Providers use this test to determine the areas of the patient's heart that are damaged and causing it to not work properly. This is very important because more than one area of the heart can be damaged and contribute to heart failure. The echocardiogram also allows the assessment of heart valve function. Leaking or excessively thickened valves can cause additional stress to the heart.

There are several types of echocardiograms, for example stress echocardiograms, and transesophageal echocardio-grams, or TEE’s.

A stress echocardiogram is a combination of a treadmill stress test and an echocardiogram. The echocardiogram is performed before and after the patient runs on the treadmill. This test can indicate a patient’s overall cardiac conditioning, and tell the provider how quickly the heart recovers after exercise.

A transesophageal echocardiogram, or TEE, allows the provider to view the internal structures of the heart and the heart's major vessels by passing a probe through the patient’s mouth into the esophagus. This alternate view can help the provider evaluate congenital heart defects, heart valve disease, or heart muscle disease. The provider may also be able to determine if an artificial valve is functioning properly, or if there are any blood clots within the heart.