Triplex echocardiography of the heart and aorta is a routine test for the diagnosis, management and follow-up of patients with heart disease. It is the most widely used test in cardiology along with the electrocardiogram. It can provide a wealth of important information about the size and shape of the heart, its functional capacity and its structures.

Transthoracic Ultrasound is painless and radiation-free. It has an indication regardless of age.

The doctor has the ability to visualize the cavities and valves of the heart through the chest wall. In this way we can check the functionality of the heart, the presence of abnormalities in the valves, diseases of the myocardium and pericardium as well as possible communications between the individual parts of the heart.

Ultrasound can diagnose many serious conditions such as:

- Cardiomyopathies: Such as hypertensive, hypertrophic, dilated and many others. These are important conditions whose early diagnosis is imperative.

- Valvular Diseases: Such as mitral valve prolapse, valve stenosis and insufficiency. The severity of the condition is assessed, its regular monitoring is done and it is decided whether the ideal time for interventional treatment is necessary.

- Systolic and Diastolic Function: The ability of the heart to cope with its role as a blood pump is controlled. It is evaluated if any area of the heart has signs of ischemia and is underfunctioning or if it has suffered a heart attack in the past.

- Thoracic Aortic Ultrasound: The size of the central aortic artery is checked for the presence of an aneurysm, a potentially life-threatening condition.

The test essentially uses ultrasound waves reflected from the heart to create an image of it and the great vessels. It is a completely patient-safe examination, which is performed in live time with the patient participating during it, while hearing and seeing how their heart is working. The examination includes black-and-white imaging, flow control with color imaging and spectral analysis using doppler.

The heart triplex is a painless test that takes about 15-30 minutes, while the patient remains lying on his back or left side. The cardiologist will place the ultrasound head (transducer) on your chest which, with the help of a special conductive gel, relays images of your heart in real time. The image you see on the monitor changes continuously depending on the received ultrasounds, as a result of which the movement of the heart and its structures, as well as the blood flow, are depicted. In some cases, the specialist may ask the patient to exhale and hold his breath for a few seconds, as the air in the lungs may affect the image.

In general, however, no special preparation is needed, and after the examination the patient can return to his daily activities without any restrictions.

Aortic triplex may require some preparation. As the aorta is located in the back of the abdomen, in front of the spine, examination in some patients is difficult mainly due to body type but also due to protrusion of the stomach and intestine with air or contents. For this reason, a preparation aimed at limiting the air and content in the stomach and intestine is needed. On the previous day, the examinee must avoid eating foods that cause "bloating" such as legumes, greens, salads, fruits, dairy products, chewing gum and carbonated drinks. On the day of the examination he must fast for at least 8 hours and can only consume water or tea without milk.

If it has been done before, the comparison with the previous examination is very important.