I have a hole in the heart & pulmonary stenosis doctors considerinf doing TOE does anybody know what this is

Question

also suffer with diabetes, had a stroke 1year ago and just being told I have stage 3 kidney disease . can anybody help

Answer 1

TOE - Trans Oesophageal Echocardiogram.
You will be given a drug to sedate you. A tube will be passed down into your oesophagus. It is like the echocardiogram on the outside (ultrsound of your heart) but from the inside.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

TOE can refer to TEE, as above, especially if you live in the UK. TransOesophageal Echo would be the spelled out version.

In this procedure you swallow a tube, usually while partially or fully sedated, which allows very detailed imaging of the heart and surrounding structures. It can characterize blood flow and help to quantify the degree of your stenosis, and the amount of shunting of blood through the wall defect you mention.

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is only one of many types of septal defect (the septum refers to the wall between either the upper or lower chambers). If the stenosis is significant the hole can actually ease the burden of overwork on the right ventricle, which isn't meant to work as hard to pump blood as a severe pulmonic stenosis might require.

Other types are Atrial Septal Defect (PFO is one type of this, affecting the upper chambers) and Ventricular Septal Defect (located in the wall between the lower chambers).

Best of luck with managing your health issues. You are dealing with quite a bit right now.

Answer 3

Are you sure it isn't a "TEE" that the doctor is considering doing?

If so, a TEE is a transesophageal echocardiogram. It is done to see the extent of the hole in your heart, also known as a patent foramen ovale. Here's a good link that will explain it better.

http://www.heartsite.com/html/tee.html