Your Echocardiogram Report, Translated

An echo report describes the structure and movement of the heart, and most reports contain routine descriptive phrases that are not diagnoses. The same phrase can mean different things depending on why the scan was done, your symptoms, and what your doctor already knows about you.

The translator below explains common report words. It does not decide whether your result is normal for you; that interpretation belongs with the clinician who requested the scan, your GP, or your cardiologist.

Echocardiogram term translator

Find a term from your report

ejection fraction

What the words meanHow much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each squeeze compared with how much it held just before the squeeze.

Is it commonly normal or incidental?It is a central measure of pumping strength, but it is not the whole echocardiogram.

What usually happens nextYour doctor interprets the value alongside symptoms, valve findings, rhythm, blood pressure, and previous scans.

Full echocardiogram term list

Term

Meaning

Is it commonly normal or incidental?

What usually happens next?

ejection fraction

How much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each squeeze compared with how much it held just before the squeeze.

It is a central measure of pumping strength, but it is not the whole echocardiogram.

Your doctor interprets the value alongside symptoms, valve findings, rhythm, blood pressure, and previous scans.

LVEF preserved

The left ventricle's pumping strength is in the preserved range used by the reporting lab.

This can be reassuring, but it does not rule out valve disease, rhythm problems, pressure problems, or filling stiffness.

The report is read as a whole, especially if the scan was done for breathlessness, chest symptoms, a murmur, or follow-up.

LVEF mildly reduced

The left ventricle's pumping strength is below the preserved range, but not in the more reduced bands.

It is not usually dismissed as incidental, but the importance depends on symptoms, cause, image quality, and previous scans.

Your GP or cardiologist usually checks whether it is new and whether further assessment or follow-up is needed.

LVEF moderately reduced

The left ventricle's pumping strength is clearly reduced rather than just borderline.

This is usually a clinically relevant finding, not a routine normal phrase.

The clinician who requested the echo should interpret the cause and decide what review or follow-up is appropriate.

LVEF severely reduced

The left ventricle's pumping strength is markedly reduced.

This is an important finding and needs clinical interpretation in context.

If you have not already had follow-up arranged, contact the team who requested the scan or your GP promptly for advice.

left ventricular hypertrophy

The wall of the left pumping chamber looks thicker than expected.

It can be linked with blood pressure, valve narrowing, body size, athletic training, or other conditions, so context matters.

Clinicians usually compare blood pressure, valve findings, measurements, and previous scans.

diastolic dysfunction

The heart muscle appears to relax or fill less easily between beats.

It is a common phrase on reports and can range from mild age-related change to a finding that matters in symptoms.

The usual next step is to relate it to breathlessness, blood pressure, rhythm, valve findings, and other measurements.

trivial or mild regurgitation

A small amount of blood is seen leaking backwards through a valve such as the mitral, tricuspid, or aortic valve.

Trivial and mild valve leaks are extremely common and often of no consequence, especially when the valve structure and chamber sizes are otherwise reassuring.

Your doctor checks which valve is involved, whether the leak is stable, and whether any follow-up is needed.

aortic sclerosis

The aortic valve looks thickened or calcified but is not described as significantly narrowed.

It is often an incidental ageing-related finding, but it is not the same as aortic stenosis.

Clinicians usually look for any narrowing, listen for a murmur, and compare future scans only if clinically needed.

aortic stenosis

The aortic valve is narrowed, so blood has to pass through a tighter opening as it leaves the heart.

It is not usually described as a normal finding; importance depends on severity, symptoms, and the heart's response.

Your clinician usually reviews the severity, symptoms, and whether monitoring or specialist review is needed.

mitral regurgitation

Blood is leaking backwards through the mitral valve when the left ventricle squeezes.

Trivial or mild mitral regurgitation is often incidental; more marked leakage or chamber enlargement needs closer interpretation.

The report is usually read for severity, valve structure, heart size, pumping strength, and whether the finding is new.

dilated left atrium

The left upper chamber of the heart is larger than expected.

It is not a diagnosis by itself; it can reflect long-standing filling pressure, valve leakage, blood pressure, or rhythm history.

Clinicians usually interpret it with rhythm, blood pressure, diastolic function, and valve findings.

pulmonary pressure

An echo estimate of pressure on the lung side of the circulation, often derived from valve flow signals.

It can be imprecise and depends on signal quality, so a single phrase needs context.

Your doctor usually checks symptoms, lung history, left-heart findings, and whether the estimate needs confirmation or follow-up.

pericardial effusion

Fluid is seen in the sac around the heart.

A small effusion can be incidental, but size, cause, symptoms, and effect on heart filling determine importance.

The requesting clinician usually checks whether it is small or larger, new or known, and whether prompt review is needed.

wall motion abnormality

One area of the heart muscle appears to move differently from the rest.

It can reflect previous heart injury, current blood-supply issues, conduction patterns, or image quality; it is not a standalone diagnosis.

Clinicians usually compare symptoms, ECGs, previous imaging, and why the echo was requested.

normal study

The scan did not identify an important structural or pumping abnormality within what the test can assess.

This is usually reassuring, but it does not explain every symptom and does not replace clinical assessment.

If symptoms continue, ask the doctor who requested the echo what question has been answered and what, if anything, remains to be checked.

Why echo reports sound technical

Echocardiography is a measurement test and a picture test at the same time. A report may describe chamber size, pumping strength, valve appearance, valve flow, filling pressure, and the sac around the heart. The words are compact because they are written for clinicians.

That is why a single phrase should not be read alone. Mild valve leakage with normal chamber size is a very different report from severe leakage with chamber enlargement. A preserved pumping measurement can sit beside a valve or filling finding that still matters.

When to ask promptly

Do not use this page to downgrade a report marked urgent, severe, large, new, or unexpected. Follow any instruction from the scan department or the doctor who requested the test; if you cannot get advice and are worried, contact your GP or NHS 111.

How to read the report with your doctor

Ask what is new, what is old, what is mild or incidental, and what finding actually explains your symptoms. If a repeat scan is suggested, ask what change it is meant to look for. If a term is worrying you, bring the whole report rather than a cropped line.

Evidence used

These sources support the wording used here: echo measurements need standardised methods, valve leakage and narrowing are interpreted by severity and context, physiological valve leaks are commonly detected in healthy people, and pericardial effusion is interpreted by size and effect on heart filling.

Source: Lang RM, Badano LP, Mor-Avi V, et al. Recommendations for cardiac chamber quantification by echocardiography in adults. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. doi:10.1016/j.echo.2014.10.003

Source: Nagueh SF, Smiseth OA, Appleton CP, et al. Recommendations for the evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function by echocardiography. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. doi:10.1016/j.echo.2016.01.011

Source: Zoghbi WA, Adams D, Bonow RO, et al. Recommendations for noninvasive evaluation of native valvular regurgitation. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. doi:10.1016/j.echo.2017.01.007

Source: Otto CM, Nishimura RA, Bonow RO, et al. Guideline for the management of patients with valvular heart disease. Circulation. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000923

Source: Okura H, Takada Y, Yamabe A, et al. Prevalence and correlates of physiological valvular regurgitation in healthy subjects. Circulation Journal. doi:10.1253/circj.CJ-11-0277

Source: Schulz-Menger J, Collini V, Groschel J, et al. ESC guidelines for the management of myocarditis and pericarditis. European Heart Journal. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf192

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Your echocardiogram report

Echocardiogram term translator

ejection fraction

Why echo reports sound technical

When to ask promptly

How to read the report with your doctor

Evidence used

Would you like specialist advice?