Specialist care
Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) in Slavuta
A heart ultrasound, or echocardiogram, shows how the heart muscle contracts and how the heart chambers and valves work. At Viva Clinic in Slavuta, transthoracic echocardiography is done at the polyclinic at 27a Sobornosti St, and you don't need to prepare for it. You can book by phone or on Viber.
Paid serviceBy appointment
At a glance
- Where
- 27a Sobornosti St, Slavuta
- Hours
- Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00
- How to book
- phone or Viber
- Payment
- paid
When you may need a heart ultrasound
- Your doctor heard a heart murmur during an exam
- Shortness of breath, swollen legs or tiring quickly with everyday activity
- High blood pressure, when your doctor wants to check whether the heart walls have thickened
- Skipped beats, a fast or irregular heartbeat
- Chest pain or discomfort that your doctor wants investigated
- Fainting or severe dizziness, when your doctor suspects a heart cause
- Follow-up of a valve problem, cardiomyopathy or a past heart attack
- Cardiomyopathy or another inherited heart condition in a close relative
What an echocardiogram includes
- Transthoracic echocardiography: the heart is scanned with a probe on the chest
- Measuring the heart chambers and wall thickness, and checking how the muscle contracts
- Doppler: how the valves work and how blood flows inside the heart
- Checking for fluid in the pericardium, the sac around the heart
- A written report to take to your cardiologist or family doctor
- A consultation with a cardiologist at the clinic if you need one
- ECG and Holter monitoring at the same polyclinic
What a heart ultrasound shows
An echocardiogram shows the heart in motion. The doctor measures the atria and ventricles and the thickness of their walls, and watches how the heart muscle contracts. These measurements are used to calculate the ejection fraction, the share of blood the left ventricle pumps out with each beat.
Doppler adds blood flow to the picture. It shows whether a valve is narrowed or whether blood leaks back through a valve that doesn’t close tightly. The doctor also checks the pericardium, the sac around the heart, for fluid.
A standard echocardiogram doesn’t show narrowing of the coronary arteries that supply the heart. So when you have chest pain, a heart ultrasound is usually one of several tests, and the cardiologist orders the rest. Heart rhythm is assessed with an ECG and Holter monitoring, both done at the same polyclinic.
Why your doctor may order an echocardiogram
Most often, a heart ultrasound is done to find the cause of symptoms or to see how a condition has affected the heart. A murmur the doctor hears through a stethoscope can be a sign of a valve problem, and the echocardiogram shows whether there is one and how severe it is. If you are short of breath or your legs swell, the doctor checks whether the heart’s pumping function is weakening. After a heart attack, the scan shows which part of the muscle contracts less well.
With high blood pressure, the heart works under strain for years and the wall of the left ventricle gradually thickens. An ultrasound shows this even before you notice anything, and the doctor takes it into account when choosing treatment.
An echocardiogram is a planned test. Sudden severe chest pain, struggling to breathe, fainting or an attack of a pounding heartbeat with weakness need emergency care: call an ambulance on 103 and don’t drive yourself to a doctor.
What happens during an echocardiogram
Viva Clinic does transthoracic echocardiography: the probe is moved over the skin of your chest. No preparation is needed, so you can have breakfast and take your medicines as usual.
You’ll be asked to undress to the waist and lie on a couch, usually on your left side. The doctor puts gel on your skin and places the probe in several spots: next to the breastbone, under the left breast and under the ribs. You may be asked to breathe in deeply, breathe out or hold your breath for a few seconds. When the doctor switches on the Doppler, the machine may make a whooshing noise: that is the sound of blood flow. The scan usually takes from 15 minutes to an hour.
Bring your referral, previous echo and ECG reports, hospital discharge summaries and a list of the medicines you take. That way the doctor can compare the results and see what has changed.
What to do with the results
Take the echocardiogram report to the doctor who referred you. Most often this is a Viva Clinic cardiologist, who orders heart ultrasounds when needed and reads the figures in the report together with your symptoms and other tests, because normal values depend on age, sex and body size. Based on the results, the cardiologist chooses your treatment. If you are being treated for high blood pressure, read our article on what to do about high blood pressure. The article on Holter monitoring explains how all-day ECG and blood pressure recording works.
A heart ultrasound at Viva Clinic is paid. It is done in Slavuta, so you don’t need to travel to Khmelnytskyi or Kyiv for an echocardiogram. Other tests at the polyclinic are listed on the ultrasound and diagnostics page.
Questions about heart ultrasound
Do I need to prepare for a heart ultrasound?
No, a transthoracic echocardiogram needs no special preparation. Eat, drink and take your usual medicines as normal. Wear clothes that make it easy to undress to the waist, and bring any previous echo and ECG reports and hospital discharge summaries.
How long does a heart ultrasound take?
Usually from 15 minutes to an hour. It depends on what the doctor needs to assess and how clearly the heart can be seen through the chest. Afterwards the gel is wiped off and you can go straight back to your day.
How is a heart ultrasound different from an ECG?
An ECG records the heart's electrical activity: rhythm, rate and signs of strain or damage to the muscle. An echocardiogram shows the heart itself, its size, walls and valves and how it contracts. Doctors often order both, and both are done at the Viva Clinic polyclinic.
Who orders a heart ultrasound?
Usually a cardiologist or family doctor, when you have symptoms, a heart murmur or ECG changes. If you don't have a referral, start with a cardiologist: they will ask about your symptoms, do an ECG and tell you whether you need an echocardiogram. The cardiologist sees patients at the same clinic.
Does a heart ultrasound hurt?
No. You feel the cool gel and the pressure of the probe, and when the doctor presses harder to get a better view it can be a little uncomfortable. Ultrasound involves no radiation, so the scan can be repeated as often as your doctor needs.
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More in ultrasound and diagnostics
Abdominal ultrasound- Kidney and bladder ultrasound
- Thyroid ultrasound
- Breast ultrasound
- Pelvic ultrasound
- Pregnancy ultrasound
- Leg vein and artery ultrasound
- Prostate and scrotal ultrasound
- Joint and soft tissue ultrasound
- Neurosonography (infant brain ultrasound)
- ECG
- Holter and 24-hour blood pressure monitoring
- Spirometry
- Gastroscopy (upper endoscopy)
- Colonoscopy
- Sigmoidoscopy (rectoscopy)
Where to get a heart ultrasound in Slavuta
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