Children's Heart Institute | Cardiac Testing: Echocardiography

The Children's Heart Institute - Hasan Abdallah, M.D.

What is it? | Color Doppler | Black & White vs Color | Sound

Pediatric Echocardiography: Sound

When doctors perform the echocardiogram test, they can also hear the sound of the blood in the heart when they apply sound to the machine called doppler. This technology not only allows the doctor to hear the sound of the blood flow in the heart, but also to measure how fast the blood flows through the heart valves.

For example, the blood flows at a speed of 1 meter per second across the Aortic Valve. If the blood flow is high ( 2 - 3 meters per second ) this means that the heart is squeezing the blood at a higher rate to overcome an obstruction.

Click on the icons to hear the sound of the blood as it crosses each valve:

Aortic Valve
P-Wave: This is the sound across the Aortic Valve utilizing the ECHO machine. This pattern of looking at it is called "pulsed wave."

C-Wave: We can also listen to it through a doppler method called "continuous wave." Listen to the difference.

Mitral Valve
P-Wave: This is the sound of blood flow through the Mitral Valve utilizing the pulsed wave.

C-Wave: This is the Mitral Valve utilizing continuous wave.

Tricuspid Valve
P-Wave: Here is the sound of the Tricuspid Valve using pulsed wave.

C-Wave: This is the sound of the Tricuspid Valve using continuous wave.

Pulmonic Valve
P-Wave: This is the sound of blood flow across the Pulmonic Valve utilizing pulsed wave. The listening ultrasonographic gauge is at the openning of the Pulmonic Valve.

C-Wave: Continuous wave flow through the Pulmonic Valve.

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