Echocardiography

Animal Hospital of Rye is equipped to provide echocardiography, a test that uses sound waves (ultrasound) to create images of a pet's functioning heart. It provides information about the size and shape of the pet's heart and level of function of its chambers and valves.

Echocardiography can identify areas of heart muscle that are not pumping due to poor blood flow or injury from previous "heart attacks." In addition, a type of echocardiography called Doppler ultrasound shows how well blood flows through the chambers and valves of a pet's heart. Echocardiography can detect blood clots inside the heart, fluid buildup in the sac around the heart (pericardium) and problems with the aorta.