What is it?
Doppler echocardiography detects the movement and turbulence of blood and can create a color image (color Doppler).
Color Doppler makes it possible to determine and display on screen the direction and speed of circulation in the heart cavities and vessels.
O Echocardiogram or Echocardiography is one of the most widely used techniques for diagnosing heart disease, as it can detect functional and morphological changes that are vitally important for clinical decision-making.
This is a dynamic examination of the heart that provides moving images in which the state of the heart chambers can be analyzed, including the size of the right and left ventricles and the right and left atria.
This test is used to visualize the thickness of the heart muscle and the heart’s 4 valves: mitral, tricuspid, pulmonary and aorta.
It also assesses the beginning of the aorta and the pericardium, which is a membrane that surrounds the heart.
It is an accessible, painless, non-invasive test carried out by a cardiologist, in which all you are asked to do is lie comfortably on the examination table so that images can be obtained that change as the position of the probe on your chest changes, allowing you to see the heart from different angles.
What does it detect?
Two-dimensional Transthoracic Doppler Echocardiography images make it possible to see whether the heart valves open and close correctly, whether blood escapes when they close, how much and whether the blood flow is normal.
They can also detect whether there are abnormal communications between blood vessels or between compartments of the heart and also determine the structure and functioning of vessels and cavities.
Preparation for Doppler Echocardiography
There is no specific preparation for this exam and, once it is over, you can resume your activities as normal.
Agreements and Prices of Doppler Echocardiography
- SNS / ARS (users do not pay any money if they have an echocardiogram at the NRD with a prescription from the Health Center – the Doppler component is not reimbursed by the SNS);
- ADSE (user only pays the co-payment, around 19.5€), IASFA, ADM GNR, SAD PSP;
- Insurers: Médis, Multicare, Advance Care, Allianz, Saúde Prime, Future HealthCare, SS CGD, SAMS Quadros, SAMS, Montepio, RNA, Generali, Mudum, MGEN, Aegon, Vitória, Una Seguros, other insurers;
- Health plans: Medicare, Saúde Prime, Future HealthCare, Continente Wells, ACP, other health plans.
The price varies depending on the health system or insurance you want to use.
Where to do it?
Two-dimensional Transthoracic Echocardiography with Doppler can be done at the NRD, at the following address: Avenida Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, nº 11-B, r/c, 1070 – 060 Lisboa (Next to Praça de Espanha)
