The latest issue of CASE is now available with intriguing reports, including “Emotional Stress Triggered Severe Mitral Regurgitation: The Multifactorial Interplay of the Mitral Valve.” CASE Editor-in-Chief Vincent Sorrell, MD, FASE, remarked, “Aker et al. provide readers with an intriguing manuscript on the transient nature of MR. In their report, a 77-year-old woman (HFpEF from hypertensive heart disease) demonstrated severe MR with normal LV systolic function during a routine serial TTE. There was malcoaptation of normal-appearing MV leaflets in the setting of patient distress and complaints of feeling ‘emotional’ and ‘overwhelmed.’ Through counseling, the patient became calmer and within 10 minutes, a repeat TTE demonstrated dramatic changes: mild MR, smaller LA, lower RVSP, and improved semi-quantitative findings of MR. These changes occurred without detectable changes in LV global or LV regional function and without significant changes in BP or HR. This report should serve as an important reminder on the transient nature of MR and the need to document the clinical setting (including BP) on all reports. To quote these authors’ conclusions: ‘Physicians should be encouraged to consider psychological factors and routine preassessment of BP before and during echocardiography when evaluating patients for [MR] given the highly dynamic characteristics of the MV.’”

The remainder of this issue tackles a variety of topics in the Multimodality Imaging, Coronary Artery Disease, Infections in the Heart, and Valvular Heart Disease categories. Cianci et al. report on a potential association of cardiac sarcoidosis with ulcerative colitis, presenting a variety of CV images and a summary of existing literature. Torres-Valencia et al. describe a missed myocardial infarction due to coexisting symptoms of COVID-19. With the use of TTE, TEE, and CCT imaging, Sahebjam et al. find a vegetation within a coronary artery fistula, a rare location for endocarditis. Rounding out this issue is Valvular Heart Disease with a report from Corsi et al. demonstrating the vast variation in clinical presentations of patients with QAV.

Be sure to check out the latest Unlock the CASE on the CASE homepage, which was the winning entry from the Cardio-oncology SIG Case Competition.

SUBMIT your case report to us! Whether it will be your first time submitting a case or your 50^th, we are here to make it a great experience. Email us with questions or submit your report today!

The March issue of JASE is entirely focused on the echocardiographic assessment of the right heart. It includes a new Society guideline, “Guidelines for the Echocardiographic Assessment of the Right Heart in Adults and Special Considerations in Pulmonary Hypertension: Recommendations from the American Society of Echocardiography.” The writing group was led by Drs. Monica Mukherjee and Lawrence Rudski.

This issue’s original investigations incorporate a variety of topics including length indexing for right ventricular function, tricuspid regurgitation, exercise echocardiography, and sex differences in right heart size in pulmonary hypertension. Regarding his original investigation, “Association With Outcomes of Correcting the Proximal Isovelocity Surface Area Method to Quantitate Secondary Tricuspid Regurgitation,” lead author Michele Tomaselli, MD, remarks, “The PISA method, when adjusted for the leaflets of the tricuspid valve and the low velocities of the regurgitant jet, improves its overall accuracy and prediction of outcomes, particularly in cases of ventricular secondary tricuspid regurgitation.” Editorial comments accompany three of these original investigations, addressing proximal isovelocity surface area correction in tricuspid regurgitation, atrial secondary tricuspid regurgitation, and assessment of RV function in patients with and without tricuspid regurgitation. Two brief research communications discuss prognostic value of right ventricular dysfunction in dilated cardiomyopathy and quantification of lung perfusion by a novel echocardiographic approach in pediatric pulmonary vein stenosis. Rounding out this issue is a letter to the editor about artificial intelligence-based detection of tent-like signs in intracardiac echocardiography to assist transseptal puncture.

Guest written by Susan E. Wiegers, MD, FASE, this month’s President’s Message honors the beautiful life and legacy of James N. Kirkpatrick, MD, FASE.

A new call for papers is now open! A focus issue on chamber quantification is set for publication in early 2026. Papers that address any aspect of echocardiography in quantitative assessment of the cardiac chambers should be submitted by June 1, 2025. Please direct questions to JASE managing editor Debbie Meyer at dmeyer@asecho.org.

Tune into our Author Spotlight page for interviews between JASE Editor-in-Chief Patricia Pellikka, MD, FASE, and authors of recently published papers. February’s interview features Kevin M. Harris, MD, FASE, discussing his paper, “Rate of Ascending Aortic Enlargement in a Large Echocardiographic Cohort: Associated Risk Factors and Adverse Aortic Events.”
Please see the March ASE Education Calendar for a listing of educational opportunities far and wide

Application Deadline: March 24, 2025 

Along with Course Directors and Chairs, Course Co-Directors and Co-Chairs are instrumental in the implementation and success of live and virtual courses. All applications for available positions can be submitted now through March 24th. The ASE Education Committee will review applications and make recommendations to the ASE Executive Committee, who will make the final selection on April 8th.

ASE Course Co-Director Positions

It is current policy that the Co-Director becomes the Course Director after two years and will then serve as the Course Director for two years. The application process for Course Co-Director beginning in 2027 and serving through 2028 is now open for the following ASE courses:

• Echo Hawaii

ASE Virtual Co-Chair Positions

It is current policy that the Co-Chair becomes the Course Chair after one year, and then will serve as the Course Chair for one year. The application process for Course Co-Chair for 2027 is now open for the following ASE courses:

• Advanced Imaging Techniques Virtual Experience
• Echo in Pediatric & Congenital Heart Disease

NOTE: Since the chair and co-chair for the PCHD are required to be a physician and a sonographer, the 2027 PCHD Co-Chair must be a sonographer.

The February issue of JASE includes a new guideline titled, “Guidelines for Performing Ultrasound-Guided Vascular Cannulation: Recommendations of the American Society of Echocardiography.” Lead co-author Annette Vegas, MD, FASE, remarks, “Ultrasound guidance is currently not a standard of care for all vascular access, but it is becoming increasingly common in daily clinical practice due to its ability to enhance success rates and reduce complications. Adopting the recommendations in this guideline will help clinicians better minimize risks, maximize technical competencies and ultimately, improve patient outcomes.”

This issue’s original investigations incorporate a variety of topics including ascending aortic aneurysm, left atrial function and heart failure development, and the right ventricle in pulmonary vascular disease. Editorial comments accompany two of these original investigations, addressing screening intervals and rates of expansion in ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm as well as a left atrial volumetric/mechanical coupling index. Rounding out this issue are a number of brief research communications—machine learning technology in automating thoracic aorta dimensions and stratifying risk in low-gradient aortic stenosis, the hemodynamic performance of some recent TAVR valves, clinical and echocardiographic features of individuals with cardiac amyloidosis at risk for future thrombus formation, and the use of left atrial appendage 3D echo to refine the prothrombotic state in atrial fibrillation.

Guest written by members of ASE’s Council on Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Steering Committee, Craig E. Fleishman, MD, FASE, and Pei-Ni Jone, MD, FASE, this month’s President’s Message highlights the ongoing work of this council and its future priorities to drive progress in this sector of the field.

A new call for papers is now open! A focus issue on chamber quantification is set for publication in early 2026. Papers that address any aspect of echocardiography in quantitative assessment of the cardiac chambers should be submitted by June 1, 2025. Please direct questions to JASE managing editor Debbie Meyer at dmeyer@asecho.org.

Tune into our Author Spotlight page for interviews between JASE Editor-in-Chief Patricia Pellikka, MD, FASE, and authors of recently published papers. January’s interview features Thomas H. Marwick, MBBS, PhD, MPH, discussing his paper, “Cardiac Function and Functional Capacity in Patients With Long COVID: A Comparison to Propensity-Matched Community Controls.”

Please see the February ASE Education Calendar for a listing of educational opportunities far and wide.

The latest issue of CASE is now available with intriguing reports, including “Aortic Stenosis With Dynamic Left Ventricular Outflow Obstruction: Diagnostic and Management Challenges—A Case Series.” CASE Editor-in-Chief Vincent Sorrell, MD, FASE, remarked, “One of the commonly encountered, but difficult diagnostic and clinical scenarios, is the patient with serial obstructive lesions. Fortunately, for CASE readers, they now have an outstanding CASE series from Qian et al. who took the time to prepare many such examples. Using CASE report formats to educate us, these authors provide us with their expert insights and approach to three diverse clinical examples—using Doppler as well as 2D and 3D echocardiography to guide the assessment of the hemodynamic significance at each level of serially obstructive lesions. Starting with TTE as the diagnostic modality of choice, they also discuss the incremental value of TEE and invasive hemodynamics. This is another CASE report you will want in your growing file of CASE reports included in your Echo Lab Educational Curriculum Folder.”

In addition to this Doppler Dilemmas report, Ochi et al. demonstrate a “dove-coo murmur” that originated from pulmonary regurgitation, revealing how to compare visual signals on spectral Doppler displays with their audio counterparts. This issue continues with two reports in the Congenital Heart Disease category. Shaw et al. report on a venous anomaly where the right SVC and IVC drained into the LA, including echo Doppler images to show the associated shunt lesions and cardiac CT images used to guide surgical repair. Chen et al. use echo and cardiac CT for a patient with bicuspid AV, an anomalous coronary artery, and a congenitally malformed papillary muscle – a reminder of how often adults are affected by previously undiagnosed congenital heart disease. Fetal Echocardiography rounds out this issue, with Tunks et al. reporting on an infant with a tortuous, elongated left-sided aortic arch, offering suggestions on how to approach antenatal diagnoses and the importance of multidisciplinary serial follow up.

Dr. Sorrell’s editorial describes the relatively recent transition from analog to digital echo, assessing the benefits of this transition while reminiscing on the technology that served us well at the time. Be sure to check out the latest Unlock the CASE on the CASE homepage, which was the winning entry from the Cardio-oncology SIG Case Competition.

SUBMIT your case report to us! Whether it will be your first time submitting a case or your 50^th, we are here to make it a great experience. Email us with questions or submit your report today!

The January issue of JASE includes a brief research communication titled, “Sustained Benefits of Mavacamten in Patients With Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Long-Term Assessment Using Artificial Intelligence–Electrocardiogram and Echocardiographic Data.” Author Said Alsidawi, MD, remarks, “In this paper, we show that mavacamten has sustained benefit on left ventricular diastolic function based on AI-ECG data and echo parameters when assessed after 6 months of therapy. These benefits were independent of LVOT gradient relief and might suggest an intrinsic effect on the myocytes.”

Two other brief research communications are included in this issue; the first discusses a novel echocardiography feature-tracking algorithm for stabilized frame-to-frame extraction of aortic root diameters in the parasternal long axis, and another comes to us from Australia and New Zealand, spotlighting young people with rheumatic mitral regurgitation living in remote areas. This issue’s original investigations incorporate a variety of topics including cardiac function in long COVID, coronary artery disease, and normal values in 3D echocardiography. An editorial comment accompanies an original investigation on the prevalence of diastolic and systolic mitral annular disjunction in patients with mitral valve prolapse. Rounding out this issue is the correspondence section—read about efficacy of goal-directed Valsalva in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy taking mavacamten, targeted neonatal echo based hemodynamic consultation in the ICU, and dobutamine in low-flow, low-gradient severe aortic stenosis with preserved ejection fraction.

This month’s President’s Message is guest written by members of ASE’s Research and Research Oversight Committees, Jonathan Lindner, MD, FASE; Daniel Forsha, MD, FASE; and Raymond Stainback, MD, FASE, and highlights the vital work of clinician-scientists and ASE’s ongoing efforts to support scientists and innovation in this realm of echo.

A new call for papers is now open! A focus issue on chamber quantification is set for publication in early 2026. Papers that address any aspect of echocardiography in quantitative assessment of the cardiac chambers should be submitted by June 1, 2025. Please direct questions to JASE managing editor Debbie Meyer at dmeyer@asecho.org.