It wasn't long ago that the latest technology for doctors to see inside a beating human heart took up an entire room. Now doctors say a technology breakthrough using a much smaller computer can save your life. Now doctors say a new method called myocardial contrast echocardiography, or MCE, works much faster and is much less expensive. The key is to detect where the blockage is so it can be opened before there is permanent damage.
Doctors inject the patient's vein with microbubbles the size of red blood cells.
The microbubbles then appear, showing how blood is flowing through an artery and the heart. If the bubbles do not light up, then part of the heart is not getting enough blood, signaling an emergency. The speed of blood flow through the heart is indicative of the amount of the artery blockage. If there is no flow, we know there is blockage in the coronary arteries. If you have such symptoms, MCE could save you time, money and possibly your life.