Our Approach for TEE
Our electrophysiologists and other heart doctors go through a comprehensive diagnostic process to help guide our treatment planning for all types of heart conditions. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is an ultrasound technology that provides highly detailed images of the heart and its internal structures.
Our heart experts use TEE to detect blood clots, evaluate heart valves, and guide treatment for arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats) and many other heart conditions.
WHAT WE OFFER YOU FOR TEE
- Specialized expertise of our imaging technologists in producing highly detailed images of the heart using TEE, and of our doctors in interpreting the results.
- Ease of accessto the echocardiography lab, adjacent to the Arrhythmia Service clinic, for all your care in one convenient location.
Make an Appointment
If you are a new patient and want to request and appointment or need help finding a doctor, please call 650-723-6459, Option 3.
If you are a returning patient, call 650-723-6459, Option 2, to request an appointment.
About Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE)
A transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) is an imaging test that uses sound waves to produce high-quality, moving pictures of the heart. An echocardiogram (echo) shows the size and shape of the heart and details of the heart’s internal structures.
For a TEE, an imaging technologist guides the transducer (sonogram device in the shape of a thin, flexible tube) into your mouth and down your esophagus to obtain the images. You will take medication to help you relax and to numb your throat so that you will not feel discomfort during the procedure.
Because your heart is just in front of the esophagus, a TEE provides clearer, more detailed images of the left chambers of the heart than a standard echo, which we perform on the surface of your chest. Learn more about echocardiography at Stanford.
We use TEE to:
- Assess how well the heart’s chambers, valves, and blood vessels are working, for proper blood flow through the heart
- Check for blood clots in the heart, to guide treatment for atrial fibrillation, a type of arrhythmia (abnormal heartbeat)
- Check for structural abnormalities in heart valves and chamber walls
- Guide the positioning of catheters in many diagnostic and treatment procedures
