Echocardiogram Birmingham

Private echocardiogram in Birmingham, £225

An echocardiogram is an ultrasound scan of your heart, often called an echo or a heart scan. At our Kings Heath clinic every scan is reviewed and reported by a consultant cardiologist, Prof Jawad Khan, in a 45-minute appointment. No GP referral is needed and you can book online.

• No referral needed
• 45-minute appointment
• Reviewed and reported by a consultant cardiologist
• Written report by email
• CQC-registered clinic
• Free on-site parking

What an echocardiogram shows

A probe on your chest sends sound waves into the heart and builds moving pictures of it beating. With Doppler, the scan also shows the blood flowing through it. From those images the cardiologist can assess:

• How well the heart pumps: the strength of each beat, measured as the ejection fraction, which is the key check for heart failure
• The four valves: whether any is narrowed (stenosis) or leaking (regurgitation), and how severely
• The size and thickness of the chambers and walls: enlargement or thickening from years of high blood pressure, or a cardiomyopathy
• Fluid around the heart (a pericardial effusion)
• Holes and congenital differences between the chambers
• The main artery leaving the heart (the aortic root), for widening

It is painless, uses no radiation and nothing is injected. An echo looks at the structure and pumping of the heart, whereas an ECG records only its electrical rhythm; the two tests answer different questions and are often done together.

When to have one

• Breathlessness, especially lying flat or on exertion, or swollen ankles
• A heart murmur heard by a doctor, or known valve disease that needs monitoring
• Palpitations, dizziness or fainting where the heart's structure needs checking
• Long-standing high blood pressure or diabetes, to look for strain on the heart
• A family history of cardiomyopathy or sudden cardiac death
• After a heart attack, or an abnormal ECG that needs explaining
• Before major surgery, competitive sport, or when an insurer or employer asks for one
• Reassurance: you have been told you need a "heart scan" and want it done quickly by a specialist

What happens at your appointment

1. Book online and pick a time. Allow 45 minutes.
2. Undress to the waist and lie on your left side. Three small ECG stickers go on your chest so the scan can be timed to your heartbeat, and ultrasound gel is applied.
3. The scan. A specialist heart probe is moved over your chest and between the ribs for 30 to 40 minutes, taking still images, moving loops and Doppler measurements on a Philips iE33 cardiac ultrasound system.
4. An explanation of what is seen before you leave, and what, if anything, needs to happen next.
5. Written cardiologist report by email once the measurements have been reviewed, with a copy to your GP if you ask.

How to prepare

• No fasting. Eat, drink and take your usual medication as normal, and bring a list of what you take.
• Wear a top that is easy to remove. Avoid oily lotion on your chest that morning.
• If you have had an echocardiogram before, bring or forward the report so the scans can be compared.
• You can drive before and after. There is no recovery time.

Reported by a consultant cardiologist

At many private providers a sonographer performs the scan and a cardiologist reads the images later, so the person who scans you cannot tell you what they see. Here Prof Jawad Khan, Consultant Cardiologist, can do both: he often performs the scan himself, discusses the findings with you in the room, and writes the report. If something needs treating or investigating further, he arranges it, and your GP is kept informed with your consent.

If the echo is normal, or if it is not

A normal echo rules out structural heart disease, valve problems and a weak pump, which is reassuring. What it cannot see is narrowing of the coronary arteries, which only shows itself under exertion. For chest pain on exertion the right test is a stress echo or an exercise treadmill test, both available here, and for palpitations that come and go a monitor you wear at home. The full ladder in one clinic means the right next step is a booking, not a referral.

Questions people ask