interlinear What is ECO (Echocardiography)? How to Take ECO?
Today, developments in health technologies enable the diagnosis and treatment of diseases to take shorter, and the use of painless and easy-to-apply methods.

Many reasons such as unhealthy diet, harmful habits (smoking, alcohol use) and air pollution affect human life negatively by affecting cardiovascular health. Today, with the developing technology, various imaging methods are used in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases.

Echocardiography (ECHO), using ultrasonic sound waves, is a diagnostic method that allows us to obtain information about the function of the heart. In this diagnostic method, the heart and the vessels around it are displayed. What is your ECO? How to shoot an echo? What are the risks of the ECO procedure? If you want to know the answers to such questions, you can read the rest of the article.

Contents
What is ECO?
What is Examined by the ECO Process?
How to Take ECO?
ECO Shot in Women
Are There Any Side Effects of the ECO Procedure?
What is ECO?
Thanks to the ultrasound frequency, it has over 20,000 sounds. These sound waves travel very quickly throughout the body. Sound waves undergo refraction and reflection according to the structural properties of the tissues they reach. Ultrasonic sound waves, which are reflected in the heart, turn into electrical transmissions. These messages reaching the echo device are reflected on the device screen in the form of a photo. These images are transferred to a paper by the device, allowing the current state of the heart to be examined. At the same time, the echo device instantly displays the state of the heart on the device screen. Echocardiography is an effective method used in the detection of many heart diseases. An echocardiography device records the heartbeats. The current status of artificial heart valves can be examined with an echocardiography device. In addition, cardiac muscle enlargements can be visualized with an echocardiography device. Echocardiography has many positive features in terms of ease of application. The features of echocardiography can be listed as follows:

In the echocardiography procedure, no device is placed inside the body. (non-invasive)
It is a painless method.
It does not require detailed preparation before the procedure.
There is no harm in the procedure.
It is possible to return to routine life after the procedure.
There is no harm in applying the process at repetitive intervals.
It is used for diagnosis in emergency situations with its fast and snapshot creation.
It is an economical device.
Easily portable.

What is Examined by the ECO Process?
The echocardiography device is used in different formats. There are four of these formats used and they are as follows:

M-Mode Echocardiography: In this method, a small part of the heart is examined by sending a narrow sound wave to the heart.
Two-Dimensional Echocardiography: In this method, the harmony between cardiac structures located close to each other is examined. For this purpose, an image of the determined region of the heart is created.
Doppler Echocardiography: In this method, which cannot be imaged when it was first used, the blood flow rate in the heart valves and great vessels is observed.
Two-Dimensional Color Doppler Echocardiography: It is a more developed form of Doppler echocardiography. In this method, faster results are obtained than the Doppler method. Also, blood flow is observed in color.
An echocardiogram helps diagnose and monitor certain heart conditions by checking the structure of the heart and surrounding blood vessels, analyzing how blood flows through the vessels, and evaluating the heart's pumping chambers. Electrocardiography helps diagnose and monitor heart-related diseases. These ailments are as follows:

Heart Attack: Vascular health is very important for the heart, which pumps clean blood to the body. A heart attack occurs as a result of blockage in the vessels that provide blood flow from the heart to the body and from the body to the heart, and blood flow to the heart is blocked. In such cases, echocardiography is a method used for diagnosis.
Heart Failure: The inability of the heart, which is responsible for the circulation in the body, to perform its function is called heart failure. Heart failure is a structural and functional disorder. In this case, the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body at the right pressure and not enough oxygen can be transported to the tissues.
Congenital Heart Disease: Congenital heart diseases, which refer to heart disorders in the newborn period, are birth defects that affect the normal functioning of the heart. Early diagnosis of congenital heart diseases and initiation of treatment in the early period are very important for infant health. Echocardiography is a safe method used to diagnose heart diseases in newborns.
Problems with Heart Valves: There are four valves that control blood flow inside the heart. These valves are the aortic, tricuspid, mitral, and pulmonary valves. Echocardiography is applied to diagnose problems affecting the heart valves.
cardiomyopathy 

i: Diseases that occur in the heart muscle are called cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy occurs when the walls of the heart become thickened or enlarged. Echocardiography is a diagnostic method that provides information about the structure of the heart muscle and is used in the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy.
Endocarditis: Infection in the lining of the heart damages the heart valves. This condition is called endocarditis. Echocardiography is a method used in the diagnosis of endocarditis.
Echocardiography results allow the diagnosis of such diseases.

How to Take ECO?
The echocardiography procedure is started by asking the patient to lie flat on his back on a stretcher. Then the chest part is asked to be opened. Then several small sticky sensors, called electrodes, are attached to the chest. These are connected to a machine that monitors the heart rhythm during the test. A lubricant gel is applied to the chest area or directly to the ultrasound probe. Then the patient is asked to lie on his left side and the probe is moved towards the chest. The probe is connected by a cable to a nearby machine that will display and record the images produced. The sound waves produced by the probe are not heard, but a whistling sound can be heard during scanning. It is normal to hear such sounds. The procedure takes 15-60 minutes in total and the patient can return to his routine after the procedure.

Scan results can be shared with you at the end of the examination. However, for more accurate and clear results, the data from the scan is analyzed and sent to the physician performing the procedure after the analysis.

ECO Shot in Women
Echocardiography, which is used in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases, is a very important application in terms of women's and infant health. Echocardiography is applied to observe cardiovascular diseases in women during pregnancy. The absence of radiation of echocardiography provides a safe possibility for use in pregnancy. In addition, echocardiography has an important place in the diagnosis of heart diseases in the unborn child. This echocardiography, which we call fetal echocardiography, is a test similar to ultrasound. In this examination, the structure and function of the heart of the baby in the mother's womb are displayed. It is usually done between 18 and 24 weeks. In this process, an in-depth look reveals whether there is any abnormality in the baby's blood flow or heartbeat.

Fetal echocardiography, which is used to protect baby health in women, is not applied to all pregnant women. Oftentimes, a simple ultrasound will show the development of all four heart chambers of the baby. Fetal echocardiography is used for detailed examination and diagnosis when a definitive diagnosis cannot be made in previous tests or when an abnormal heartbeat is detected in the fetus. There is no risk of fetal echocardiography, which creates an image of the baby's heart in pregnant women.

Are There Any Side Effects of the ECO Procedure?
Echocardiography is a simple, painless and safe diagnostic method. Scanning has no side effects, but the lubricating gel can make you feel cold and uncomfortable. In addition, discomfort may be felt when removing the electrodes from the skin surface. Unlike procedures such as x-rays and computed tomography, echocardiography does not use radiation.

Taking precautions before diseases occur is important for the quality of life. For this, it is necessary to go to routine hospital controls and have the examinations requested by the doctor. Regular visits to the hospital are very important in early diagnosis of diseases and initiation of treatment in the early period. You can protect your health and continue your life with a better quality by having regular hospital check-ups.