Echocardiogram

  : : I'm not sure I spelled it right, but oh well.  I recently had an ecocardiogram done on my heart and was wondering if this information could tell doctors if I am at risk of any heart problems such as a future heart attack?  I would appreciate if anyone knows what all can be determined from an echocardiogram.  Thanks.
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[CCF Cardio MD - MTR]

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Dear Aaron, a stress test is also known as a graded exercise test. During a stress test, the patient walks on a treadmill or rides a stationary bicycle while their heart rate, heart rhythm, and blood pressure are continuously monitored.  The patient is asked to exercise until they can go no further due to exhaustion, chest pain, or another problem.  The ECG is monitored to look for changes that may indicate there is not enough blood flow to a portion of the heart muscle that is stressed with exercise.  At the same time, some stress test used imaging techniques with echocardiography or nuclear acquistion techniques to image the heart muscle.  The purpose of the imaging is to localize an area of reduced blood flow that may be noticed on the surface ECG.  For patients who are unable to exercise due to muscle or joint problems, medications can be used to "stress" the heart to simulate exercise.