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...

Graft failure or progressive native vessel disease can be a serious problem after coronary artery bypass grafting. However, because of poor image quality it may be difficult to evaluate these patients by transthoracic stress echocardiography. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the effectiveness of dobutamine stress echocardiography in the detection of myocardial territories w...

The usefulness of two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography during buttoned double-disk device closure of an atrial septal defect was evaluated in 20 consecutive patients at the time of interventional catheterization. Transesophageal echocardiography was used in 11 patients (ages 5 to 62 years, weights 20 to 91 kg). Because of the size of the available transesophageal echo probe, transthor...

The increasing cost of healthcare is a widespread international problem to which the cost of imaging has been an important contributor. Some imaging tests are ordered inappropriately and contribute to wasted use of resources. Appropriate use criteria have been developed in the USA in order to guide test selection, but there are a number of problems, including the evidence base for these criteri...