tests to diagnose valve diseases?

[goodfella032]

Male/40/BMI 21-22....I have been having some heart issues lately, chest discomfort, palpitations,  shortness of breath, light headed/ foggy..,have had ekg's that came back borderline, but no mention of murmur,   coronary ct scan which showed no artery  blockage and no aortic issues.  Had a stress test which came back normal, all blood work normal,  unfortunately i m still experiencing the same symptoms,  the one test i.have not had is the echo because they cannot get good images of my lower heart chambers because of mild pectus excavatum.   I am experiencing many symptoms of MVP or.MR, and was wondering if these tests ive already had would show any valve problems.   I was told to get a nuclear stress test done, but was also told that nuclear test won't show MVP.  Should i request the echo where they stick tje tube down your throat? Any insight greatly appreciated

[Ger57]

The trans thoracic echo (TTE) is the one that puts the probe with gel on your chest.
The trans esophagus echo (TEE) is the  one where there stick the probe in your throat

[Ger57]

Echo doppler is a great way to find out if there are any valve leakages. Normally the trans thoracic echo (TTE) gives images that are good enough to analyze valve prolapse and/or regurgitation in non obese persons,
Sometimes the ribs can be a bit in the way but changing the position of the probe a bit normally solves this problem.

If in your case, the pectus excavatum obstructs the ultrasound signals too much, a trans esophagus echo (TEE) could be the way to go. It gives much better pictures anyhow because the probe is much nearer to the heart and there are no ribs between heart and probe.