Three-Dimensional Echocardiography
Martin Ingi Sigurdsson
1. In which of the following patients might a full volume assessment of the left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) via gated acquisition be difficult?
A. Patient with hypertrophic septal cardiomyopathy
B. Patient in rate-controlled atrial fibrillation
C. Patient who is intubated for respiratory distress
D. Patient with lateral wall dyskinesis
View Answer
1. Correct Answer: B. Patient in rate-controlled atrial fibrillation
Rationale: To improve the resolution during 3D assessment of large structures, such as the left ventricle, gated acquisition stacks together scans of multiple smaller 3D pyramids to generate the image that includes adequate temporal resolution. This is done by electrocardiogram (ECG) gating, and arrythmias such as atrial fibrillation, therefore, render this modality sensitive to stitch artifacts when the image is inaccurately compiled due to the arrhythmia.
Selected Reference
1. Lang RM, Badano LP, Tsang W, et al. EAE/ASE recommendations for image acquisition and display using three-dimensional echocardiography. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2012;13:1-46.
2. Which of the following assessments is greatly improved by using three-dimensional (3D) compared with two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography?
A. Blood flow in left atrial appendage
B. Positioning of a ventricular assist device
C. Assessment of left ventricular dyssynchrony
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