Use and Implications of Echocardiography in the Hemodynamic Assessment of Cardiogenic Shock.

Cardiogenic shock (CS) is a complex multisystem syndrome due to pump failure, associated with high mortality and morbidity. Its hemodynamic characterization is key to the diagnostic algorithm and management. Pulmonary artery catheterization is the gold standard for the left and right hemodynamic evaluation, but some concerns exist for invasivity and untoward mechanical and infective complications. Transthoracic echocardiography is a robust noninvasive diagnostic tool for hemodynamic multiparametric assessment that well applies to the management of CS. Its applications expand from etiology definition to the choice of therapeutic intervention and their monitoring. The present review aims at detailing the role of ultrasounds in CS emphasizing the clinical implications of combining cardiac and non-cardiac ultrasounds examinations that may correlate with prognosis.