Cardiac Ultrasonography

Cardiac ultrasonography is the production of two-dimensional cross-sectional images of intracardiac anatomy by stop-action compound scan pulse-echo ultrasound. The images show the size and shape of the cardiac chambers in systole and diastole, the appearance of heart valves, and the orientation of the great vessels. The stop-action display is created by repetitively activating the recording oscilloscope for a selected short segment of each cardiac cycle. The activating signal is timed by the patient's electrocardiogram. Asynchronous motion of the scanner accumulates additional echoes with each cycle. As a noninvasive technique, it is without risk or morbidity.