Scans and tests your GP or consultant may recommend for Heart valve problems

This is information about which scans and tests may be used to assess Heart valve problems, and what each one is: not a recommendation. Your clinician decides which scan or test, if any, you need. Prices below are typical UK private ranges; enter your postcode to see the NHS wait near you.

Heart valve problems happen when one of the heart's four valves does not work properly. About heart valve problems and NHS waits →

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Examination and an ECG first

A valve problem is often first suspected from a murmur heard through a stethoscope, with an ECG to record the heart rhythm. These are tests, not scans.

Echocardiogram

The main test: an ultrasound of the heart that shows how the valves open and close, arranged by the heart team. It is usually part of the specialist assessment.

Sources: NHS, British Heart Foundation.

See the wait and price near you

Enter your postcode for the NHS wait at your nearest hospital and the private price range from clinics within 25 miles.

All conditions, scans and tests →MRI waits by hospital →All NHS waiting times →

Wait or Pay is independent and is not the NHS. NHS waits are from DM01 diagnostics data. Nothing here is medical advice; your clinician decides which scan, if any, you need.

How long will you really wait, and how could you go sooner?

Your free companion dashboard compares all four paths for Heart valve problems: wait, switch to a faster NHS hospital, part-private, or fully private. It names the faster hospitals near you, shows what going private would cost, and gives you letters ready to send. You can print it or save it as a PDF. Free, and nothing is locked or paid.

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