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Gerald Marx, MD, Staff Cardiologist at Children's Hospital Boston responded to the following question: How do you describe an ECHO (echocardiogram) to a child? An echocardiogram is a special way to look at your heart, without causing any discomfort or pain. First, a special gel is placed on your chest or stomach area. This gel is easily removed without causing any discoloration to your skin or clothes. Next a small transducer, looks like a small box with a rubber cover, is placed over the gel directly on your chest, stomach, and towards your neck. We gently moved this transducer in many directions to both see the various parts of your heart, but also to see the direction and speed of the blood as it travels around your heart. This test gives us a lot of valuable information. The test can last from as few as five minutes to sometimes as long as 30 to 45 minutes. For the longer studies you can watch the video of your choice. (For the younger children, naturally your parents must approve of the choice of videos). We only ask that you stay fairly still during the exam. This is a pain free test gives us so important information to help us take better care of you.
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© 2007, Children's
Hospital Boston Department of Psychiatry. All Rights Reserved. The information on this website should not be taken as medical advice, which can only be given to you by your personal health care professional. Updated February 1, 2007 |
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