Bubbles in Ballooning: Safety and Utility
We are very grateful to Drs Putrino and Platts for their comprehensive letter pointing out the safety of contrast echocardiography (CE) in acutely ill patients. We are in full agreement…
Contrast Echocardiography in Acutely Unwell Patients
We commend Citro et al . on their comprehensive review article regarding the clinical and prognostic implications of echocardiographic techniques in takotsubo cardiomyopathy. In particular, we found the section on myocardial…
Mitral Annular Dynamics in Mitral Annular Calcification: A Three-Dimensional Imaging Study
Background The mitral annulus displays complex conformational changes during the cardiac cycle that can now be quantified by three-dimensional echocardiography. Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is increasingly encountered, but its structural…
The Miniaturized Multiplane Micro-Transesophageal Echocardiographic Probe: A Comparative Evaluation of Its Accuracy and Image Quality
Background The initial experience with the miniaturized multiplane micro-transesophageal echocardiographic probe (MTEE) reported high-quality diagnostic imaging in small infants. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy…
Libman-Sacks Endocarditis: Detection, Characterization, and Clinical Correlates by Three-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiography
Background Libman-Sacks endocarditis, characterized by Libman-Sacks vegetations, is common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and is commonly complicated with embolic cerebrovascular disease. Thus, accurate detection of Libman-Sacks vegetations may…
Guideline Adherence for Echocardiographic Follow-Up in Outpatients with at Least Moderate Valvular Disease
Background Attention to resource utilization has led to increased scrutiny of the appropriateness of initial diagnostic imaging studies on the basis of current guidelines. Far less attention has been paid…
Doppler Imaging in Aortic Stenosis: The Importance of the Nonapical Imaging Windows to Determine Severity in a Contemporary Cohort
Background Although the highest aortic valve velocity was thought to be obtained from imaging windows other than the apex in about 20% of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS), its…
Recommendations on the Use of Echocardiography in Adult Hypertension: A Report from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) and the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE)
Hypertension remains a major contributor to the global burden of disease. The measurement of blood pressure continues to have pitfalls related to both physiological aspects and acute variation. As the…
A Summary of the American Society of Echocardiography Foundation Value-Based Healthcare: Summit 2014
Table of Contents Value-Based Healthcare in the United States 756 The Value Choice in Cardiac Imaging 757 Echocardiography’s Value in Clinical Care 758 The Patient Perspective 761 Payer Perspectives on…
Accuracy and Test-Retest Reproducibility of Two-Dimensional Knowledge-Based Volumetric Reconstruction of the Right Ventricle in Pulmonary Hypertension
Background Right heart function is the key determinant of symptoms and prognosis in pulmonary hypertension (PH), but the right ventricle has a complex geometry that is challenging to quantify by…
