Cardiac sonography — encompassing all forms of diagnostic echocardiography — uses ultrasound to image the heart’s chambers, walls, valves, and pericardium, as well as the great vessels at their cardiac origins. It is among the most widely used and clinically impactful diagnostic imaging technologies in medicine.
The comprehensive echocardiographic examination includes 2D imaging in multiple planes, M-mode for precise linear measurements, color Doppler for valve regurgitation and shunt detection, and spectral Doppler for quantitative hemodynamic assessment. Key measurements include left ventricular ejection fraction, chamber dimensions, wall thickness, valve orifice areas, peak gradients, and diastolic function parameters. Findings guide treatment decisions across cardiology, cardiac surgery, and critical care medicine.
The Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS) credential from ARDMS and the Registered Cardiac Sonographer (RCS) from CCI are the primary credentials. Specialty examinations address adult echo, pediatric echo, and fetal echo separately. Cardiac sonographers are employed in hospital cardiology departments, outpatient echo labs, cardiac catheterization laboratories, and community cardiology practices throughout the United States and internationally.