Transesophageal Echocardiography

(Also called TEE and Heart Scan With Endoscopy)

Overview

There are several diseases of the heart that may be detected by echocardiography, including, but not limited to, the following:

• atherosclerosis (Also called coronary artery disease.) - a gradual clogging of the arteries over many years by fatty materials and other substances in the blood stream.
  
  
• aneurysm - a dilation of a part of the heart muscle or the aorta (the large artery that carries oxygenated blood out of the heart to the rest of the body), which may cause a weakness of the tissue at the site of the aneurysm. In extreme cases, the aneurysm may rupture, which is an emergency situation, due to rapid blood loss out of the blood vessels.
  
  
• cardiomyopathy - an enlargement of the heart due to thickening or weakening of the heart muscle.
  
  
• congenital defects - defects in one or more heart structures that occur during formation of the fetus. Some examples of these defects include the following:
  
  
  • ventricular septal defect - a condition in which there is a "hole" in the wall between the two lower chambers of the heart. This is the condition sometimes referred to as "blue baby," because the unoxygenated blood flows into the left ventricle and is pumped out to the body with the oxygenated blood.
    
    
  • transposition of the great vessels - a condition in where the two large blood vessels coming out of the heart (the aorta and the pulmonary artery) are reversed.
    
    
  • tricuspid atresia - a condition in which the tricuspid valve (one of the four valves of the heart) is missing.
    
    
• congestive heart failure - a condition in which the heart muscle has become weakened to an extent that blood cannot be pumped efficiently, thus causing buildup (congestion) in the blood vessels, lungs, feet, ankles, and other parts of the body.
  
  
• pericarditis - an inflammation or infection of the sac that surrounds the heart.
  
  
• valve disease - malfunction of one or more of the heart valves may cause an obstruction of the blood flow within the heart.

click image to enlarge

Some circumstances, such as obesity or pulmonary disease (emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as COPD), may interfere with the ability to obtain adequate images. In these circumstances, an echocardiography technique known as transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) may be used when an echo is indicated.

Certain conditions of the heart, such as mitral valve disease, blood clots or masses inside the heart, dissection (tear) of the lining of the aorta (the artery which carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the body), and implanted prosthetic (artificial) heart valves are better visualized and assessed with TEE.

TEE is used during surgery to assess the cardiac status of patients with known cardiac disease who are undergoing non-cardiac procedures, and during heart surgery to evaluate the effects of surgical intervention to the heart, such as bypass surgery or valve repair or replacement.

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