Physiology-Guided Management of Serial/Diffuse Coronary Artery Disease.

Purpose Of Review: Just over four decades ago, the management of coronary artery disease (CAD) witnessed a major breakthrough with the advent of minimally invasive treatment modalities like angioplasty followed by coronary stenting. Dr. Andreas Gruentzig pioneered this field in 1977 by adding a balloon to the Dotter catheter.

Ultrasound assessment of carotid arteries: Current concepts, methodologies, diagnostic criteria, and technological advancements.

Following cardiac disease and cancer, stroke continues to be the third leading cause of death and disability due to chronic disease in the developed world. Appropriate screening tools are integral to early detection and prevention of major cardiovascular events. In a carotid artery, the presence of increased intima-media thickness, plaque, or stenosis is associated with increased risk of a transient ischemic attack or a stroke.

Assessment of tricuspid valve by two- and three-dimensional echocardiography with special reference to percutaneous repair and prosthetic valve implantation procedures.

Moderate-to-severe tricuspid regurgitation affects approximately 1.6 million people in the United States. An estimated 8000 patients will undergo tricuspid surgery annually, leaving a large number of patients with this condition untreated.

Myocardial contrast echo: current status and future directions.

Contrast echocardiography has been around since the late 1960's. CE began with an M-mode observation by Joyner and a subsequent publication by Gramiak and Shah on enhanced echocardiographic imaging of saline in the aorta. MCE has come a long way from a diagnostic tool to include therapeutics in its armamentarium.

Detection of resting myocardial perfusion defects by SonoVue myocardial contrast echocardiography.

Background: SonoVue is a new microbubble contrast agent containing sulfur hexafluoride. We assessed the efficacy of SonoVue myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) to detect resting perfusion abnormalities.

Methods: Nineteen adult patients with a wall motion abnormality in a screening echocardiogram were studied.

Delineation of intracardiac shunts using contrast echocardiography.

Contrast echocardiography is useful to visualize the endocardial borders of the left ventricle and improve the signal intensity of spectral Doppler signals. It can also help to define intracardiac flow dynamics in complex situations. We report 2 cases where contrast echocardiography improved the delineation of complex shunts and also provided new information not available by conventional echocardiography.

Methods of contrast administration for myocardial perfusion imaging: continuous infusion versus bolus injection.

The debate over the optimal contrast administration method involves many issues. This article discusses bolus versus infusion administration pertaining to myocardial perfusion imaging. Continuous infusion ensures efficient and optimal data capture during contrast studies and is preferred over bolus injection for both theoretical and practical reasons.