Tips For Getting an Echocardiogram

If you've seen even just one episode of Grey's Anatomy (or any other medical show), you've probably heard someone order or refer to an "echo." An echo, or echocardiogram, is a diagnsostic test that uses an ultrasound to look at your heart. I had to get one recently, and I thought I'd give you my recommendations for how to make it go as smoothly as possible.

Know What's Going To Happen

It always helps to know what to expect. I'm going off of my echo experience throughout this story, so your experience might be different. My experience was this: I went in, put on a gown, layed down on the bed, and the tech moved the ultrasound around on my chest and had me hold my breath while she took the pictures. It took around 40 minutes. Don't hesitate to ask your doctor what the echo will entail for you, and how long it usually takes, so you can be better informed going into the test.

Wear Easy-To-Remove Clothes

For your echo, you are going to have remove everything on the top half of your body. Wearing too many layers or things that are hard to get on and off will just make this whole situation that much more of a hassle. Personally, I didn't find the echo to be too stressful, but the easier you can make it on yourself, the better.

Wear A Mask That's Easy to Breathe

As we are still in covid-times, you're going to have to wear your mask while you get the echo done. During the echo, you're going to have to take a lot of deep breaths and then hold them for pretty long periods of times. When I got to my appointment, they had me change my mask out for a disposable one-- and thank god for that because it would have been so much harder in my more serious mask!

If You Have Asthma, Take Your Inhaler Before Hand

This is probably my biggest tip for getting an echo. You should ask the place where you're getting the echo done if it's alright for you to take your inhaler before hand and, if they say you can, definitely do. You'll have to take a lot of deep breaths and hold them, and I really wish I'd taken my inhaler before my echo.

Request A Tech You're Comfortable With If Necessary

I didn't realize going in that I'd have to be completely undressed from the waist up. Lucky for me, the tech was female (or at least female-presenting). I would have been really uncomfortable if I'd had a male/male-presenting tech-- not that they can't be professional and I know it's not a big deal for everyone, but I have past experience that would have made this uncomfy for me. If you're in the same boat, you can totally ask if you can make an appointment with a tech that you'd be more comfortable with.

It's Not Going To Hurt (Too Much)

The test requires the ultrasound wand to be pushed pretty hard against your body to get a reading-- sometimes this is pretty uncomfortable, and sometimes, yes, it does hurt. But I found it better to just suffer through the pain and get the image the first time instead of having the tech stop. The pain goes away when the pressure is removed, and I found it bearable, even with my high sensitivity to pain due to my chronic illness.

I hope you found these tips helpful as you prepare for your echo! Let me know if you did or if you have any recommendations of your own in the comments.