Cardiac ultrasound, what can I expect and what might they find

[Justasconfusedwithnumber2]

I have just been told I am going for a cardiac ultrasound after unresolved breathlessness. I am currently 27 weeks pregnant. I have been treated as a newly diagnosed asthmatic for the past 6 weeks but tests this week show peak flow (which dropped 20 to 24 weeks) has not improved. Prior to this I had a VQ scan and chest xray to rule out a PE.

I have no idea what to expect and no idea what they might find. Needless to say I am abit anxious. Any experiences please?

It's just like the ultrasound tests used in pregnancy so totally painless and not invasive. They are usually checking to see if the valves are working properly.

Dd2 has a congenital heart defect and has had many. She's 18 now and had one this year at a new hospital. You will need to take your bra off and lie on a couch probably on your back and your side and they move the probe around to get pictures of your heart. They put colour in it to see the flow through the heart. It's not invasive. It takes a while to look at all sides of the heart, I think dd was in there for at least 15 minutes so don't worry if it takes a while. Like an obstetric ultrasound the operator needs to concentrate so won't be able to tell you much whilst they are carrying it out.

It's very easy, it's exactly the same as the baby ultrasound, but just in your chest. They might also take a view of your neck and diaphragm. They will take lots and lots of measurements and you might have to briefly hold you breath. Wear a shirt and bra it's easy to take off as you will need to undress from the waist up and out on a gown thingy.

They are looking at how the blood is moving through your heart, the valves, the strength of the pumping action and if you have any back wash that would reduce efficiency.

The only invasive thing they might try is a bubble study. For that they put an iv in your arm and then inject some saline at the right moment. They aerate the saline so they can watch the air bubbles moving through your heart to see if there is any leakage from one side to the other. It's pretty cool and again harmless and painless.... I had one done last week

Good luck and I hope they find the cause

I had one last week. You have to lay on your side and the sonographer uses a probe very similar to a baby ultrasound probe. They will cover your chest just below the left breast and also your abdomen and neck. It's painless and lasts about 30-40 minutes.

Hi justasconfusedwithnumber2
How did you get on? I'm also preg and had VQ for PE and chest Xray (all ok) and am awaiting cardiology for breathlessness. It's not nice especially when pregnant!

Hope you feel better