Cardiac~30–45 min
Echocardiogram
An ultrasound of the heart that provides detailed moving images of its chambers, valves, and pumping function.
An echocardiogram is a cardiac ultrasound that assesses heart structure, ejection fraction, valve function, diastolic performance, and pericardial disease. It is the primary non-invasive cardiac investigation, performed in-clinic by Dr. Peter Chang without radiation or pain.
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Echocardiography uses sound waves to create real-time images, allowing the doctor to evaluate heart muscle and valve performance.
What an Echocardiogram Shows
An echocardiogram is an ultrasound scan of the heart. Using the same harmless sound waves as a pregnancy scan, it produces a live, moving picture of the heart's chambers, walls and valves.
It answers the questions an ECG cannot. It measures the ejection fraction — how strongly the main chamber pumps — shows whether any part of the muscle is moving poorly (a sign of coronary disease or a past heart attack), grades how tight or leaky each valve is, checks the pressure in the lung arteries, and looks for fluid around the heart. It is the single most useful non-invasive window on the structure and function of the heart.
It answers the questions an ECG cannot. It measures the ejection fraction — how strongly the main chamber pumps — shows whether any part of the muscle is moving poorly (a sign of coronary disease or a past heart attack), grades how tight or leaky each valve is, checks the pressure in the lung arteries, and looks for fluid around the heart. It is the single most useful non-invasive window on the structure and function of the heart.
How the Scan Is Done
You lie on your left side, undressed to the waist with a gown, while a small amount of gel and an ultrasound probe are moved across the chest and just under the ribs. There is gentle pressure but no pain and no radiation, and nothing to prepare beforehand.
A standard transthoracic scan takes 30 to 45 minutes. Occasionally a tiny amount of contrast is injected into a vein to sharpen the images.
A standard transthoracic scan takes 30 to 45 minutes. Occasionally a tiny amount of contrast is injected into a vein to sharpen the images.
The Specialised Types
Most people only ever need the standard scan, but there are variants for specific questions.
- Transthoracic (TTE) — the standard scan through the chest wall
- Transoesophageal (TOE) — a small probe passed into the gullet under sedation, giving a much closer view for complex valve disease or a search for the source of a stroke
- Stress echocardiogram — images taken before and immediately after exercise or a medication that speeds the heart, to look for coronary disease
- 3D echocardiogram — detailed reconstruction used when planning valve surgery
When We Recommend One in Singapore
An echocardiogram is the next step after an abnormal examination or ECG in many situations.
- Breathlessness, chest pain, palpitations, a blackout, or swollen ankles
- A heart murmur heard on examination
- To assess or monitor heart failure, valve disease or a cardiomyopathy
- As a baseline before chemotherapy, or in someone with a family history of an inherited heart condition
- Privately in Singapore a transthoracic echocardiogram costs roughly SGD 250 to SGD 500, and Medisave can often be applied when it is done to investigate symptoms
Getting Your Result
Dr. Chang performs and reports the scan in the same visit, so you leave with the findings and what they mean explained against your symptoms.
A normal echocardiogram is genuinely reassuring about the heart's structure and pumping, though it does not exclude narrowed coronary arteries between angina episodes — that needs a stress test or a CT coronary angiogram. Where the scan shows mild or moderate valve disease, we set an interval for a repeat scan to watch it over time.
A normal echocardiogram is genuinely reassuring about the heart's structure and pumping, though it does not exclude narrowed coronary arteries between angina episodes — that needs a stress test or a CT coronary angiogram. Where the scan shows mild or moderate valve disease, we set an interval for a repeat scan to watch it over time.
Echocardiogram: Common Questions
Ready to Schedule Your Echocardiogram?
Most evaluations are available on the same day as your consultation with Dr. Peter Chang at Paragon Medical Centre, Singapore.