Echocardiography, also called an echo test or cardiac ultrasound, utilizes high frequency sound waves to create real-time images of your beating heart so that your radiologist and referring clinician can assess how well your heart, valves and chambers are functioning. An echo test can identify cardiac muscle disease, the hearts condition after a heart attack, fluid collected around the heart, blood clots and tumors, problems with the heart lining (pericardium), stenosis of the valves, and malfunctioning of the main artery of the heart, called the aorta, as well as issues with related arteries and veins.