Archives for March 2021

On March 21, 2021, the ASE Board of Directors approved the following policy:

ASE STATEMENT ON PREVENTION OF WORK-RELATED MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS

The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) advocates for safe and effective working conditions in the field of cardiovascular ultrasound. The rise in the incidence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD) reported in sonographers is concerning and can result in increased costs to the health care system as well as personal costs to the sonographer. All parties including employers, patients, and sonographers benefit from a safe ergonomically sound working environment.  Sonographers, employers, and manufacturers should continue working together to create a safe and ergonomic workplace. Manufacturers should produce equipment that is ergonomically designed and allows for height and reach adjustment as well as lightweight and appropriate grip transducers. Employers can contribute to a safe environment by designing lab workflow to include breaks between scans, rotating shifts to reduce repetitive scanning patterns, limiting portable bedside exams, and providing ergonomic equipment. Cardiovascular ultrasound exams should be scheduled with sufficient time for patient and room set up, use of advanced technologies as needed, measurements, post-examination cleaning of room and equipment, and report generation if applicable. Sonographers are responsible for practicing good ergonomics when scanning, using available ergonomic equipment, and actively engaging in exercises (i.e. stretches) before and after exams to decrease the risk for WRMSDs.

Each year, ASE honors the best of the best in the field of echocardiography. Join us in congratulating this year’s award recipients. They will be honored at this year’s ASE 2021 Scientific Sessions Virtual Experience.

• PHYSICIAN LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Robert Levine, MD, FASE
• MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD – Jose Banchs, MD, FASE
• ASE MENTORSHIP AWARD – Michael Picard, MD, FASE

All About FASE: What You Need to Know

March 23, 2021 | 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

This webinar is geared toward ASE members who are interested in becoming a Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography (FASE). Presenters: Gregory Tatum, MD, FASE and Jennifer Warmsbecker, RDCS, BS, FASE

• Get answers to the most commonly asked questions during the FASE application process.
• Review eligibility requirements for FASE applicants.
• Review FASE checklists and accompanying documents required.
• Cover the benefits of being a FASE member

Women in Echo – Celebrating Echo’s Female Leaders

March 31, 2021 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET

In honor of Women’s History Month, ASE is proud to announce its newest member community, Women in Echo. Moderator Ritu Thamman, MD, FASE, will lead a conversation with Pamela Douglas, MD, FASE, (ASE’s first female President), Judy Hung, MD, FASE, (current ASE President), Madhav Swaminathan, MD, FASE, (ASE Immediate Past President) and Carol Mitchell, PhD, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, RT(R), ACS, FASE, (current ASE and ASEF Treasurer). The discussion will celebrate female leaders in echocardiography and how these innovative women have not only been instrumental in shaping the field of cardiovascular ultrasound, but also ASE and the ASE Foundation. Attendees will garner insights on career pathways and how their contributions could make a difference in the future too. This webinar is free for both members and nonmembers, so please share with your colleagues.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) State-of-the-Art: Comprehensive Echocardiographic Evaluation Part 1

April 6, 2021 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET

This webinar will help you understand the utility of echocardiography in the diagnosis and prognosis of HCM. In addition, the speakers will review when the sonographer or echo reviewer should suspect HCM and what elements of the exam are most important in echo reporting. You can claim 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. ASE gratefully acknowledges Bristol Myers Squibb for their support of this webinar.

Registration for all three webinars is FREE for active ASE members. Login to your ASE member portal and select the ASE Learning Hub from the top red menu to browse educational offerings including webinars.

The ASE Council on Cardiovascular Sonographer is proud to announce Carol Mitchell, PhD, ACS, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, RT(R), FASE, as this month’s Sonographer Volunteer of the Month.

“Dr. Mitchell is our esteemed Sonographer Volunteer of the month. She is an Associate Professor (CHS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and ASE’s current treasurer. Carol is the very FIRST sonographer to serve as treasurer for the ASE! This is tremendously exciting, as it demonstrates that sonographers are able to serve on the Executive Committee in any role! Dr. Mitchell was also the lead author and co-chair of the recent ASE Guideline document entitled Guidelines for Performing a Comprehensive Transthoracic Echocardiographic Examination in Adults: Recommendations from the American Society of Echocardiography demonstrating that sonographers can serve as lead authors on ASE guideline documents. The Council is very proud to highlight Carol’s commitment to ASE. She represents us well at the highest levels of ASE,” said Keith Collins, MS, RDCS, FASE, Chair of the ASE Council on Cardiovascular Sonography.

Read more about Dr. Mitchell here.

The March JASE contains a new ASE guideline, “Recommendations for the Adult Cardiac Sonographer Performing Echocardiography to Screen for Critical Congenital Heart Disease in the Newborn,” by Melissa A. Wasserman, RDCS, RCCS, FASE, et al. Ms. Wasserman commented, “The ASE Councils on Pediatric and CHD and Cardiovascular Sonography collaborated to provide these guidelines that contain essential information and tools for all cardiac sonographers. This document describes critical congenital heart disease (C-CHD) screening targets and specific imaging recommendations, and the correlating videos show sonographers exactly what is being described. Our hope is that these guidelines will help all cardiac sonographers, regardless of their pediatric experience, to be able to detect C-CHD, and ultimately improve patient care and outcomes.”

A review in this issue covers spectral Doppler interrogation of the pulmonary veins for the diagnosis of cardiac disorders. Clinical investigations explore aortic stenosis, quantitation of tricuspid regurgitation, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, normal values for measurements of the right atrium (Results of the World Alliance Societies of Echocardiography Study), neonatal echocardiography, and impact of echocardiography laboratory accreditation. Two brief research communications and a letter to the editor round out the explorations.

Amer Johri, MD, FASE, and Laura Mantella, MSc, write in the Council on Circulation and Vascular Ultrasound blue page about non-invasive tools to assess cardiovascular risk. Take a look at the Education Calendar to see what virtual events you may fly to in your mind, and take part in on your computer.

Read the new Associate Editor Corner on the JASE homepage, produced by Jordan Strom, MD, FASE. In this inaugural interview, he talks with JASE Associate Editor Vincent Sorrell, MD, FASE, about a variety of compelling issues.

The annual ASE Industry Roundtable Partner Think Tank and Retreat provides the opportunity for ASE volunteer leaders and representatives from a diverse number of corporate partners (pharmaceutical, device, technology, etc.) to meet to solve common problems and share insights from echocardiography

research and initiatives. One result of these meetings was the creation of an Ultrasound Enhancing Agent (UEA) Task Force. The Task Force, chaired by ASE past president Jonathan R. Lindner, MD, FASE, recently completed the publication of Ultrasound Enhancing Agents: Recommended Laboratory Practices from ASE. Contrast echocardiography is now considered, by ASE and imaging societies worldwide, to be an indispensable part of the practice of echocardiography. This document was created for administrators and clinicians as a how-to manual aimed at the indications and protocols related to UEA studies. It contains a synopsis of information for facilitating laboratory, clinic, or hospital policy decisions regarding the practice of contrast echocardiography. Information is also provided on contrast storage, administration, consent policies, billing, and safety.

Special thanks to Dr. Lindner and the other members of the UEA Task Force including: James Hodovan, MS, RDCS (AE, PE), CVT; Sharon Mulvagh, MD, FASE, FRCP(C), FACC; Margaret M. Park, BS, ACS, RDCS, RVT, FSDMS, FASE; Thomas R. Porter, MD, FASE; G. Monet Strachan, ACS, RDCS, FASE; and Kevin S. Wei, MD, FASE.

ASE President Judy Hung, MD, FASE, shares more about how the synergistic relationship between ASE and our corporate partners is creating a brighter future for echocardiography and patient care in her March President’s Message published in JASE today.

ASE invites your institution to join the COVID-19 Research Project titled “Echocardiographic Findings in Patients with COVID 19 Diagnosis: Relation to Clinical Status and Inflammatory Markers.” Data will be collected from The Houston Methodist Hospital (TMH) and other centers and labs involved in the multicenter registry, who will provide their data on the Research Project to TMH and will retain the right to access and use their own data.

For more information about the study, its objectives, and how to enroll, please visit here.

ASE recently welcomed 21 distinguished Fellows of the American Society of Echocardiography (FASE) designation recipients! These members have exemplified excellence through education, research, leadership, and volunteerism. They are ambassadors for ASE, and recognized experts in their field. Join us in congratulating the newest FASE recipients:

Luis C. Afonso, MD, FASE, Jean Beresian, MD, FASE, Caroline Bleakley, MD, FASE Dale Burkett, MD, FASE, David G Goodwin, M.Ed, RDCS, FASE, Sachiyo Igata Hang, ACS, PhD, RDCS, FASE, Gary Huang, MD, FASE, James Abel Iwaz, MD, FASE, David W Jantzen III, MD, FASE, BethRae King, BS, RDCS, FASE, Menhel Kinno, MD, MPH, FASE, Anuradha Kolluru MD, FACC, FASE, Dinesh J. Kurian, MD, MBA, FASE, Candice Morrissey, MD, MSPH, FASE, Mayooran Namasivayam, MBBS, BSc(Med), PhD, FRACP, FCSANZ, FACC, FASE, Robert Nampi, MD, FASE, Shiva Sale, MD, FASE, Muhammad Azam Shah, MBBS, SBE, CBCCT, FASE, Saurabh Sharma, MD, FASE, Archit Sharma, MD, MBA, FASE, Kobina A. Wilmot, MD, MSc, FACC, FASE

A full list of FASE members can be found on SeeMyHeart.org. If you are interested in applying for FASE and being recognized in the field, or would like more information, please visit ASEcho.org/FASE. The next deadline to apply is April 1, 2021. 

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of physical defect present in a baby at birth. While it occurs in nine of every 1,000 live births, it is not always identified early and referred to a pediatric cardiologist. Lack of early detection may lead to the need for urgent evaluation in a hospital that does not have access to pediatric specialists. Therefore, there is a need for all cardiac sonographers, regardless of their pediatric experience, to be able to detect CHD and recognize those cases that are critical in nature. To assist these clinicians, the American Society of Echocardiography created  Recommendations for the Adult Cardiac Sonographer Performing Echocardiography to Screen for Critical Congenital Heart Disease in the Newborn, which provides the adult sonographer, who does not typically screen for critical congenital heart disease (C-CHD), with the essential information and tools needed to detect C-CHD in newborns and aid in life-saving diagnosis. Read more here.