Veterinary Echocardiography

Court Square Animal Hospital has the technology to provide cardiac echocardiograms for dogs and cats. “Real time” images taken of your pet’s heart using ultrasound equipment allow our veterinarians to visualize the inside your pet’s heart and evaluate the structure and function of the heart. With these images, we can detect birth defects, diseases of the heart valves and heart muscle diseases, identify fluid around the heart, identify cardiac tumors, and certain types of heartworm infections. The features of the echocardiogram may include:

• Two-dimensional images to see lesions and overall cardiac structure
• M-mode study to measure heart size and function
• Doppler examination to evaluate blood flow

We may recommend an echocardiogram for your pet if we suspect congenital or acquired heart disease, such as a heart murmur, irregular heart rhythm, or when indicated by the results of an x-ray.

An echocardiogram is painless and non-invasive, and typically does not require your pet to be under anesthesia.