OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine whether transesophageal echocardiography could clarify the nature of equivocal echodense structures in the left ventricular apical region frequently found on transthoracic echocardiography by directing the ultrasound beam from the left ventricular base to the apex and achieving better image quality. BACKGROUND Transthoracic echocardiography of...

Accepted for publication 29 April 1991 Abstract Objective-To determine the value of transoesophageal echocardiography in the assessment of selected patients at risk of cardiogenic embolism or after it. Design-Prospective comparison of the results of transoesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography. Transoesophageal echocardiography was performed with a 5 MHz single plane phased array transdu...

Background Transesophageal echocardiography is superior to transthoracic echocardiography in detecting left-sided valvular vegetations. There are no data on the value of transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of infected transvenous permanent pacemakers. Methods and Results Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography was performed in 10 patients for whom there was clinical sus...

Fig. 1. Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography revealing severe obstruction of themechanical valve (A). The cause of obstruction could not be visualised by trans-oesophageal echocardiography (B). Multiplanar reformatted images on contrast-enhanced 64-slice multidetector CT clearly depict a circular mass (arrows) with high HU values involving both atrial (C) and ventricular (D) sides of mechanic...

We present a case of 51-year-old patient after surgical closure of atrial septal defect several years ago. Enlarged right ventricle, right atrium and pulmonary hypertension were found on routine transthoracic echocardiography. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed sinus venosus atrial septal defect. Partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage was suspected. Only the computed tomography with...

Background Transesophageal echocardiography is superior to transthoracic echocardiography in detecting left-sided valvular vegetations. There are no data on the value of transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of infected transvenous permanent pacemakers. Methods and Results Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography was performed in 10 patients for whom there was clinical sus...

AIMS The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the relationship between novel two-dimensional transthoracic indices of left atrial (LA) mechanical function (speckle-tracking- and tissue Doppler-derived parameters), conventional indices (A-wave peak velocity and velocity-time integral, and A' velocity), and transoesophageal echocardiographic parameters (LA appendage emptying velocity and spont...

A 78-year-old woman experienced cardiac tamponade (Figure 1). At first, a drainage tube was inserted into the pericardial cavity through the fifth intercostal space guided by transthoracic echocardiography; however, the aspirate was bloody. We suspected that the tip of the drainage tube had been inserted into the intracardiac space. The microcavitation contrast was generated immediately by agit...

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) are associated with severe neurological complications in patients with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). The objective of the present study was to prospectively establish the diagnostic value of transthoracic contrast echocardiography (TTCE) as a screening technique for PAVM using chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) as the g...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to evaluate our clinical experience using an Amplatzer septal occluder for catheter closure of a secundum atrial septal defect under transthoracic echocardiography guidance without general anaesthesia. METHODS Patients eligible for transcatheter atrial septal defect closure were selected using transthoracic echocardiography. The largest defect diameter meas...