Effectiveness of echocardiographic imaging by nurses to identify left ventricular systolic dysfunction in high-risk patients.

Recognizing left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction is critical. The investigators sought to evaluate whether nurses could be trained to use a hand-carried ultrasound (HCU) device to screen for LV systolic dysfunction in high-risk patients. Sixty-three patients from an outpatient diabetes clinic underwent brief echocardiographic examinations by nurses using HCU devices.

Hand-carried cardiac ultrasound as a tool to screen for important cardiovascular disease in an underserved minority health care clinic.

The disparity in cardiovascular outcomes among racial and social strata may be, in part, because of delayed detection of cardiovascular disease in minority patients. The low cost and portability of hand-carried cardiac ultrasound devices may make screening of underserved patients for cardiac disease feasible. A general internist evaluated 153 patients at a clinic serving an underserved population with a hand-carried cardiac ultrasound device.

Harmonic imaging for endocardial visualization and myocardial contrast echocardiography during transesophageal echocardiography.

Background: Although harmonic imaging (HI) improves endocardial visualization and is necessary for myocardial perfusion imaging, it has yet to be implemented in transesophageal echocardiography. Our goal was to determine whether HI implemented in a prototype transesophageal echocardiography probe improved endocardial visualization and allowed perfusion imaging.

Methods: In 23 patients, fundamental and harmonic images were obtained in the transgastric short-axis (TSAX) and midesophageal 4-chamber views, and reviewed for endocardial visualization by 3 readers blinded to imaging mode.

Dynamic three-dimensional color flow Doppler: an improved technique for the assessment of mitral regurgitation.

Background: Prior studies have reconstructed mitral regurgitant flow in three dimensions displaying gray scale renditions of the jets, which were difficult to differentiate from surrounding cardiac structures. Recently, a color-coded display of three-dimensional (3D) regurgitant flow has been developed. However, this display was unable to integrate cardiac anatomy, thereby losing spatial information, which made it difficult to determine the jet origin and its spatial trajectory.