Welcome and thank you for choosing Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center for your Echocardiogram. Our physicians and technologists are dedicated to providing highly skilled and compassionate care for you and your family. We understand that you may be apprehensive about your procedure. We hope the following information will be helpful to you as you prepare.

The Cardiac Diagnostics Lab is on the 3rd floor of Memorial’s Pavilion in the P3 Link.

We want to make your experience as comfortable as possible. If you have any questions or concerns that are not answered here, please do not hesitate to call your physician or the Cardiac Diagnostics lab at (814) 534-9659 between 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Before Procedure

Your physician’s office will schedule the date and time of your appointment with Central Scheduling.

You will not be permitted to smoke or consume caffeine for at least 24 hours before the scheduled time of the Dobutamine Stress Echo. Avoid chocolate, coffee, tea, sodas or any other products containing caffeine. Consuming caffeine or smoking can cause a delay or cancellation of your procedure.

Your physician will tell you which medications if any you should stop prior to your procedure.

On the Morning of Your Procedure

You will be permitted to eat a light breakfast. Please take all your regularly scheduled medications unless otherwise instructed by your physician.
Shower or bathe the morning of your procedure. Please do not use body powders, lotions or creams to your chest area. Please wear loose-fitting, clean, comfortable clothing.

Please bring any order that your physicians office provided for you. If you were not contacted by pre-certification please bring your identification and insurance cards. If you have questions about your insurance coverage or pre-certification, call your insurance company. If you are not covered by insurance, please make arrangements for payment by calling the business office at 814-410-8470. You should try to arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled test time.

Children under 18 years of age or incapacitated adults must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. You may be accompanied by one adult family member or friend. Children should not accompany adults having a procedure.

When you arrive at the hospital on the day of your procedure, check in at the Out patient registration desk to the left on the 1st floor lobby of Memorial’s main building. You will be registered and escorted to The Cardiac Diagnostic Center. Sign in at the desk. You will be taken to an exam room to be prepared for your test.

Healthcare professionals will be available in this area to make you comfortable and to answer your questions. Your safety is our number one priority.

The staff may ask you the same questions several times; they will ask your name and birth date. By repeating our questions, we are verifying and re-verifying very important information to ensure that your time with us is as safe as possible.

During Your Procedure

In the exam room you will be asked to remove any clothing above the waist and put on a hospital gown.

Electrodes or sticky patches will be placed on your chest. They will be connected to an echocardiogram machine to record the electrical activity of your heart.

This type of echocardiogram uses the drug Dobutamine. An intravenous (IV) line is started in your arm. Dobutamine is then slowly given through the IV. It is normal to feel your heart pound for a few minutes.

You will be asked to lie on your left side. The technician will put an ultrasound conducting gel on your chest. It may feel a little cold. A small plastic device called a transducer will be placed on your chest over your heart. This will send high frequency sound waves to the monitor and show a picture of your beating heart. They will move the transducer on your chest to pick up different parts of your heart. You may hear a whooshing sound as the blood moves through your heart. The test will take about 45 to 60 minutes.

Echo images are taken while you feel the effects of the drug and after your pulse returns to normal. You may be given a second drug to slow your heartbeat to a normal level. Your heart and blood pressure are monitored during and after the test

After Your Procedure

Once your procedure is complete you will be discharged immediately.

Your technologist is not permitted to discuss your results with you. They will be reviewed with you at your next physician’s office visit. If your test was ordered STAT by your physician, the technician will alert the doctor and clerical staff to see that your doctor receives your results as soon as possible.

Thank-you for allowing the Cardiac Diagnostic Lab to care for you during your procedure.