Echocardiography
DEEchokardiographie
Echocardiography is a heart ultrasound, done either from the chest (TTE) or down the esophagus (TEE). It is the most widely used cardiac imaging test. It measures your left-ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF), chamber sizes and mass, checks the valves, and assesses 'diastolic function' (how well the heart relaxes) using flow patterns (the E/A and E/e' ratios). A newer technique, speckle-tracking strain, gives 'global longitudinal strain' (GLS). GLS spots subtle pump dysfunction earlier than LVEF, and adds independent prognostic value in heart failure, cardio-oncology, and valve disease. Echo uses no radiation and is portable. But image quality depends on the operator, and a poor acoustic window limits reliability in roughly 10 to 20% of adults. Scans follow joint ASE/EACVI chamber-quantification guidelines.
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Sources
- Lang RM, Badano LP, Mor-Avi V, et al.. (2015). Recommendations for Cardiac Chamber Quantification by Echocardiography in Adults: An Update from the American Society of Echocardiography and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging. *Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography*doi:10.1016/j.echo.2014.10.003
- Sengeløv M, Jørgensen PG, Jensen JS, et al.. (2015). Global Longitudinal Strain Is a Superior Predictor of All-Cause Mortality in Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction. *JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging*doi:10.1016/j.jcmg.2015.07.013
- Mihos CG, Liu JE, Anderson KM, Pernetz MA, O'Driscoll JM, et al.. (2025). Speckle-Tracking Strain Echocardiography for the Assessment of Left Ventricular Structure and Function: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. *Circulation*doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000001354