The esophagus is close to the heart, and images from TEE can give very clear pictures of the heart and its structures. Cardiac catheterization is also used. In this procedure a doctor guides a thin plastic tube called a catheter through an artery or vein in the arm or leg and into the coronary arteries in the heart. This test can measure blood pressure and how much oxygen is in the blood, and provide other information about the pumping ability of the heart muscle, and about the heart valves and coronary arteries. The doctor can inject a liquid dye visible in X-rays through the catheter.
Doctors can identify obstructions in the arteries by tracing the liquid's flow.
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