NEWS & EVENTS

Mayo Clinic Healthcare expands its advanced cardiac imaging service

NEWS - 26TH JANUARY 2022

Mayo Clinic Healthcare adds 3D transoesophageal echocardiography to its growing slate of advanced cardiac imaging tools

Mayo Clinic Healthcare has expanded its slate of advanced cardiac imaging tools to include transoesophageal echocardiography.

Transoesophageal echo is a state-of-the-art imaging assessment that provides immediate, accurate and cost-effective diagnostic information about the heart. It works through a thin scope that accesses specific internal views of the heart via the oesophagus. The patient is under mild sedation during the process.

The scope allows the clinicians to view moving images of the patient’s beating inner heart on a monitor. The images generated by transoesophageal echo can be measured and used for diagnosis, allowing for detailed planning of therapies. This imaging method complements other heart imaging tools used at Mayo Clinic Healthcare, such as transthoracic echo, exercise stress echo, CT scan and cardiac MRI.

Dr Gosia Wamil

Dr Gosia Wamil of Mayo Clinic Healthcare

Notably, transoesophageal echo plays a central role in the diagnosis and management of heart valve problems, such as thickening and narrowing of a valve (stenosis) or a leak in a valve that allows blood to back up (regurgitation). This type of imaging is also a key in diagnosing infective endocarditis, a bacterial infection of the heart’s lining that can damage valves. A patient may need heart valve surgery if infection has caused damage, or if a valve defect is affecting the heart’s ability to pump blood.

“Using transoesophageal echo, we can confirm an initial diagnosis of heart valve disease or provide a useful second opinion to guide a patient’s next steps. When surgical repair or heart valve replacement is needed to regain healthy blood flow, our Mayo Clinic Healthcare team consults with interventional cardiology colleagues and surgeons in the US to offer patients highly personalized recommendations,” says Dr Gosia Wamil, a consultant cardiologist at Mayo Clinic Healthcare.