Archives for June 2020

ASE Headquarters will be closed in observance of U.S. Independence Day on Friday, July 3 and Monday, July 6. Normal business hours will resume Tuesday, July 7.

Join Alina Nicoara, MD, FASE, and Nikolaos Skubas, MD, FASE, for a LIVE webinar, Thursday, July 9, 5:00 – 6:00 PM EDT as they review the recently published ASE guideline, Guidelines for the Use of Transesophageal Echocardiography to Assist with Surgical Decision-Making in the Operating Room. They will discuss a systematic approach on how to apply the existing guidelines in the intraoperative environment to answer questions specific to open, minimally invasive, or hybrid surgical procedures.

1. To register, login to your ASE member portal.
2. Select the ASE Learning Hub from the top red menu.
3. Register for the webinar here.

Registration is FREE for ASE members and $25 for nonmembers. You can claim 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ within 24 hours of watching the webinar. The webinar will also be posted for on-demand viewing and claiming CME. Click here to find out when the webinar is taking place in your time zone.

Specific questions regarding webinar registration can be sent to Jenn Goss at JGoss@ASEcho.org.

New educational resources have been developed by ASE experts to help you enhance your practice. Add these latest products to your guideline collection with the most up-to-date Guidelines for Performance, Interpretation, and Application of Stress Echocardiography in Ischemic Heart Disease.

• Guideline Reference Spiral with the updated Stress Echocardiography Guideline
• Stress Echocardiography Guideline Filp Chart and
  Binder Insert

Visit the ASE Learning Hub to see all of ASE’s educational resources, and don’t forget to login to your member portal to take advantage of your member discount.

ASE and Elsevier have collaborated to offer the June JASE content free to everyone interested in cardiovascular ultrasound around the world. Please share this news with your colleagues and students so they may dig into the double focused issue including the new ASE guideline about echo and surgical decision making, echo and COVID-19, and original research abstracts accepted for ASE’s Scientific Sessions.

Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography is a versatile diagnostic and monitoring tool used to assist in patient management in a wide-range of cardiac surgical procedures. The new document, Guidelines for the Use of Transesophageal Echocardiography to Assist with Surgical Decision-Making in the Operating Room: A Surgery-Based Approach, outlines a systematic approach on how to apply the existing guidelines to address questions on cardiac structure and function specific to the intraoperative environment in open, minimally invasive, or hybrid procedures. This peer-reviewed guideline was developed in collaboration with the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and has also been endorsed by 18 ASE International Alliance Partners. Read more here.

Editor-in-Chief Michael H. Picard, MD, FASE, announces a double focus topic issue for the June Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography (JASE). In his editorial titled Life is Dynamic and So is JASE, he writes “I had planned that this June issue of JASE would focus on the role of echocardiography in surgical decision-making and also include some cutting-edge papers that would serve as a complement to the ASE’s Annual Scientific Sessions. However, the world changed quickly, and so I felt it was important for the Journal to do so also.” Read more here.

Dear friends,

The last week has been a difficult one for many people and for many reasons. Troubling scenes of public anger have been playing out as people express their frustrations over racial inequities. Coupled with a disheartening milestone of the country exceeding 100,000 deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic, and its disproportionate impact on people of color, public sentiment is boiling over.

It is challenging for those who have never experienced discrimination of any kind to truly understand what someone feels when they face a constant threat of inequitable treatment based on circumstances beyond their control. As healthcare providers and those who help manage patients with cardiovascular disease, we are also witness to the negative impact of racial disparities on health and disease. As professionals, we often see unequal opportunities and discrimination in the workplace. While it may be hard to find words to express our emotions, we should not be silent spectators either. Witnessing acts of injustice and inequity should fuel us to act in a just and equitable manner, thereby forcefully opposing discrimination and bias. Collectively, we can and should make a difference.

ASE always stands for diversity and inclusion in all that we do. It is a core value and a driving principle that guides our actions. We reaffirm our commitment to standing together with those who feel that they are treated unjustly and pledge to eliminate those disparities. We truly aspire towards creating a caring community of echo enthusiasts. However, that can only be achieved if we commit wholeheartedly to ensure a diverse and inclusive society in which everyone feels a sense of belonging and celebrate what makes us different.

I am deeply appreciative of those who have tirelessly given their time and effort during this crisis by selflessly caring for our patients, our colleagues, and our community. The only way we can get through these difficult times is by supporting each other.

In what may feel like a dark moment in our history, let us make a commitment to make this world a better place for our families, our friends, and our communities. Let’s pledge to make at least one simple act of kindness and caring a part of our daily routines. It is truly by our actions that we will succeed together in creating a brighter future for our children.

Sincerely,

Madhav Swaminathan, MD, FASE
ASE President