NON-INVASIVE DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES << BACK Echocardiography Echocardiography (also known as cardiac ultrasound) uses sound waves to create a moving picture of the heart. The image is more detailed than an X-ray and uses no radiation. Echocardiography is performed to evaluate the valves and chambers of the heart in a noninvasive way. The echocardiogram allows doctors to evaluate heart murmurs, check the pumping function of the heart, and evaluate patients who have had heart attacks. It is a very good screening test for heart disease in certain groups of patients. A trained sonographer performs the test, and a physician interprets the results. An instrument that transmits high-frequency sound waves called a transducer is placed on the ribs near the breast bone and directed toward the heart. The transducer picks up the echoes of the sound waves and transmits them as electrical impulses. The echocardiography machine converts these impulses into moving pictures of the heart. There is no anesthesia or special preparation for an echiocardiogram, and there are no known risks associated with it.