One of the tools available to doctors to see the heart in action is the echocardiogram. This uses ultrasound waves to image the heart as it beats, so the cardiologist can tell whether it’s contracting correctly and that the heart muscle is a healthy shape. I volunteered to be a guinea pig…

Clare – I’m Clare Ward-Jones; I work for Phillips Healthcare and my role is a cardiac ultrasound applications specialist. We’ve got a machine the ETHIC and that is the supreme ultrasound machine for cardiology. We can do a 2D scan on you, we can also do 3D images so we can get a 3D model of the heart.

• The machine is the same as that used for a scan on a pregnant woman and relies on ultrasound beams which are sent out from the end of the probe and bounce back when they hit structures in the body.
• Patients must lie on their left-hand side to bring their heart closer to the front of the chest meaning the ultrasound has to travel a shorter distance and therefore produces a clearer image on screen.
• Electrodes are also applied to the patient to monitor the heart rate during the procedure – mine measured 87 which lies between the normal rate of 60-100 beats per minute.
• Jelly is applied to the skin to remove any air between the probe and the skin which ultrasound cannot travel through.

Rick – My name is Rick Steeds; I’m a consultant cardiologist. I’m particularly interested in cardiovascular imaging and I’m the current President of the British Society of Echocardiography.

• Echo sounds are very good at showing the structure of the heart; how strong the muscle is; whether the valves work; whether they leak or whether they’re narrowed, and whether there’s damage to the heart, for example, from a heart attack.
• The images of my heart show two of the four chambers and the valves between them opening and closing.

You can listen to the full interview for the Naked Scientists here.