The application of myocardial strain by two-dimensional speckle-tracking to quantify right ventricular (RV) function has recently been endorsed by the American Society of Echocardiography/European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging Joint Industry Task Force, with emphasis on the need for standardization and quality control.1 However, there are no specific recommendations to date for the level […]

We have read with much interest the article “Feasibility and Reproducibility of Transthoracic Echocardiography in Obese Patients” by Snelder et al.1 The authors demonstrated excellent feasibility of left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction and global longitudinal strain assessment (98% and 97%, respectively) in a population of obese patients with a mean body mass index (BMI) of […]

We thank Dr. Dandel for his interest, positive feedback, and stimulating comments on our article “Relative Prognostic Importance of Left and Right Ventricular Ejection Fraction in Patients with Cardiac Diseases.” […]

I read with interest the study by Surkova et al.,1 which revealed that three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) -derived right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) is associated with cardiac death in patients with various cardiac diseases and that impairment of right ventricular (RV) systolic function carries a higher risk of mortality, independent of left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction […]

While ultrasound guidance reduces complication rates and increases the success rates of pericardiocentesis,1-4 there are limited data on the safety in patients with coagulopathy or thrombocytopenia, which have traditionally been considered relative contraindications. We reviewed all echocardiography-guided pericardiocentesis procedures performed between 2007 and 2016 at the Mayo Clinic in adult […]

It is unknown whether ethnic differences occur with regard to right heart echocardiographic parameters. The aim of this study therefore was to establish normative values of left and right heart parameters in a black African population and to evaluate the effect of age and body mass index (BMI) on specific right ventricle (RV) parameters. […]

The diagnosis of severe aortic stenosis (SAS) has long been known to be associated with a poor prognosis.1 A recent report by Strange et al.2 has raised new concerns in patients with even moderate aortic stenosis; this report shows the 5-year all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with moderate aortic stenosis carries twice the mortality risk compared with patients with no aortic […]

The clinical utility of echocardiography for the diagnosis of pulmonary vascular disease (PVD) in former preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is not established. Elevated pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) rather than pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) is the hallmark of PVD. We evaluated the utility of echocardiography in infants with BPD in diagnosing pulmonary hypertension and […]

Patients with combined moderate aortic stenosis (AS) and moderate regurgitation (AR) are categorized as having mixed aortic valve disease (MAVD), and most progress to a predominant lesion, most commonly severe AS1; however, a few may progress to predominant AR. It is thus probable that AS and AR could evolve together from mild to moderate and then one lesion may progress further to become […]

Many individual echocardiographic variables have been associated with heart failure (HF) in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), but their combined utility for prediction has not been well studied. […]

Adjustment for pressure recovery (PR) may reconcile discrepancies in pressure gradients measured by Doppler echocardiography and direct catheterization in patients with mild to moderately severe aortic stenosis (AS). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether PR adjustment is useful in a large cohort of predominantly patients with severe AS. […]

Measurements of left ventricular mass (LVM) need to account for differences in patients' body size. Although this can be done by dividing LVM by, for example, body surface area, dividing by height raised to a power exponent (b), known as allometric indexing, has been proposed as potentially superior.1-3 Uptake in clinical practice has been slow, however, because a range of different values have […]