In this tough economy getting anything free, especially an expensive medical screening, is music to people’s ears. According to Rick Dettman, Echocardiography instructor, the Echocardiography program is offering free cardiac ultrasounds for current students and faculty of MATC. Students of the program are the technicians who administer the test.

According to Carrie Lelo, a student in the program who also is one of the technicians, the students that do the test are near the end of the program.

They have seen many videos of ultrasounds of the heart and have done screenings on each other before doing any of the tests on actual patients.

The equipment that the students’ use is similar to what they use in hospitals. “We do need new equipment,” Lelo added.

The test doesn’t take very long, and is painless. You have to remove your top and put on a gown.

Although that may make some feel uncomfortable, the room is private, and everyone is professional. The students are even willing to explain the different parts of the heart and what they are looking for.

The screening begins with the technician connecting an EKG machine to monitor your heart. After this they use a probe, called a transducer, with some gel on it and place it on a person’s chest to project the heart on a monitor.

The technician will perform similar tests using the transducer and EKG. “We do the same kind of tests over, in different views to make sure we don’t miss anything,” Lelo said.

Lelo stated that the technicians look at the various valves and the motion of the heart, looking for anything abnormal such as heart murmurs, clots, tumors or holes in the heart. They even measure the heart to see if it’s enlarged. Lelo added that someone could have a condition without any symptoms.

Once the technician finishes, an instructor comes in to do a quick recheck just in case the student may have missed something. The students always have an instructor on hand for any unusually situations or guidance.

The test is offered both in the spring and fall semester at the Downtown campus. This semester they are offering the test on Tuesdays from 12:00-3:00. However, the times for appointments are 12:00, 1:00, and 2:00 ONLY.

Anyone interested in making an appointment or has any additional questions call 414-297-6441, or email Dettman at [email protected]. Dettman also encourages professors to have students do this as a part of extra credit.

Although this test can be usefully to find abnormalities in the heart, it’s just meant for screening. “We don’t have the ability here to read (the results),” Dettman said.

If there are any findings, they instruct individuals to follow-up with their doctors.