Speckle Tracking in Pediatric Patients

An echocardiogram, also called a cardiac ultrasound or echo, is a medical test that takes pictures of the heart using sound waves. It shows images of the structures of the heart without using radiation. During the last year, the FDA has approved a new technology called Speckle Tracking that can look at the heart wall motion and contraction (pumping or squeezing) abnormalities. The study will also employ tissue Doppler and 3-Dimensional echo and uses the same echocardiographic machines which are used right now. The machines are upgraded with the new software application. This new technology is currently being used in adults, but unfortunately, there is almost no published data about normal heart function in infants and children using this technology. It is known from other technologies that the developing child's heart is not the same as an adult. The investigators wish to study this new technology and compare it to other technologies currently being used.