Non-invasive imaging of coronary arteries by transthoracic echocardiography is an emerging diagnostic tool to study the left main (LM), left descending artery (LAD), circumflex (Cx) and right coronary artery (RCA). Impaired coronary circulation can be assessed by measuring coronary velocity flow reserve (CVFR) by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography. Coronary artery stenoses can be identified...

OBJECTIVES This study examined the effect of endocardial and transthoracic direct current (DC) shocks on left atrial and left atrial appendage function in humans with structural heart disease. BACKGROUND DC cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (AF) to sinus rhythm is associated with transient left atrial and left atrial appendage dysfunction and the development of spontaneous echo contrast (S...

BACKGROUND Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a potentially life-threatening condition. Although computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is the reference standard for diagnosis, its early diagnosis remains a challenge, and the concerns about the radiation exposures further limit the general use of CTPA. The primary aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the overall diagnostic accuracy of tr...

OBJECTIVE To determine the best sites for ambulatory monitoring leads to detect myocardial ischaemia. PATIENTS 50 consecutive patients recovering from myocardial infarction. Six patients were excluded because of unsatisfactory recordings or baseline electrocardiographic abnormalities that influenced the diagnostic accuracy of ST segment depression. In 38 patients important ST segment changes ...

Non-invasive imaging of coronary blood flow by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography is an emerging diagnostic tool to study the left anterior descending (LAD) and posterior descending (PD) coronary arteries. With this new clinical application of echocardiography, we can directly measure changes in coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) at the very beginning of the ischaemic cascade, instead of...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine whether transesophageal echocardiography could clarify the nature of equivocal echodense structures in the left ventricular apical region frequently found on transthoracic echocardiography by directing the ultrasound beam from the left ventricular base to the apex and achieving better image quality. BACKGROUND Transthoracic echocardiography of...

To improve survival rates in patients undergoing surgical ablative procedures for malignant ventricular tachycardia (VT), a frequent practice is to implant epicardial patch electrodes at the time of map-guided surgery. After operation, patients with inducible VT often receive an automatic internal cardioverter/defibrillator (AICD) implant, whereas patients with noninducible VT usually do not. I...

The diagnostic value of a combination of transoesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography was evaluated in 21 patients with dissection of the aorta. The results were compared with those of computed tomography, aortography, and with findings at operation or necropsy or both. Transthoracic echocardiography identified three of the four patients with type I dissection, two of the five patients w...

BACKGROUND In response to growth in cardiac imaging, medical societies have published appropriateness use criteria (AUC) and payers have introduced preauthorization mandates, largely through radiology benefits managers (RBM). The correlation of algorithms used to determine preauthorization with the AUC is unknown. In addition, studies applying the 2007 AUC for transthoracic echocardiography rev...

BACKGROUND In spontaneously breathing cardiac patients, pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) can be accurately estimated from the transthoracic Doppler study of pulmonary artery and tricuspid regurgitation blood flows. In critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation for acute lung injury, the interposition of gas between the probe and the heart renders the transthoracic approach problematic. Th...