The latest issue of CASE, ASE’s online case reports journal, is available, and includes “A Happy Patient Sheltering an Unhappy Valve: Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor-Induced Tricuspid Valve Regurgitation,” by Loran Defruyt, MD, Jens Czapla, MD, Jo Van Dorpe, MD, PhD, Eline Ameloot, MD, Gilbert Lemmens, MD, PhD,Frank Timmermans, MD, PhD, and Tine De Backer, MD, PhD. Dr. De Backer shares two points for readers to consider regarding this topic. “If no clear reason for valvular disease, consider the possibility of drug-induced valvular heart disease. Also, in patients on long-term therapy with serotonin-related drugs, a cardiac ultrasound examination may be considered to screen for valvular heart disease.”

Additional cases explore left atrial appendage, vegetations, echinococcosis, interventricular septum (in human and canine patients), COVID-19, primary cardiac sarcoma, Takayasu arteritis, effusive-constrictive pericarditis, percutaneous valve solutions, and congenital preoperative planning.

This issue of CASE includes a thank you note to all of the incredible reviewers who spent time in 2020 sharing their expertise and time with CASE. See the list of these generous echo enthusiasts and consider joining their ranks by volunteering to become a CASE reviewer in 2021.

Submit an image and text to compete for the next What is this Image? quiz, a feature on the CASE homepage. The winner gets their choice of an ASE guideline poster. Email it to CASE managing editor, Debbie Meyer.

The ASE Foundation is now accepting applications for the Innovation in Cardiovascular Ultrasound Research Grants. The full submission details and applications can be found online here. Applications are due by Monday, March 15, 2021 at 5:00 PM ET.

The ASE Foundation is proud to offer two grants of up to $45,000 each for meritorious echocardiographic research proposals relevant to innovation in cardiovascular ultrasound. Of particular interest are proposals that expand the key role of echocardiography, or the development of novel technology, in clinical diagnosis or management.

For application inquiries or assistance, please contact ASE Director of Research and Quality, Sarah Beth Bdoyan, MSPH.

Join the other labs enrolling in ImageGuideEcho and see how your quality of care can be impacted today! Experience ImageGuideEcho’s new and modernized dashboards and data visualizations to improve quality of care and advance the field of echocardiography. Schedule a demonstration today to see how the Registry can improve your quality of care and maximize your institution’s echo data. To learn more about ASE’s ImageGuideEcho platform, watch our video “Quality Improvement for You, Your Institution, and the Field of Echo” or email Info@ImageGuideEcho.org to learn more.

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 Headquarters will be closed Monday, February 15 in observance of U.S. Presidents’ Day. Normal business hours will resume Tuesday, February 16.

Register today to take part in this exciting educational offering that features 57 hours of CME and 90 days of access! ASE’s program committee crafted content that features the many revolutionary technologies in echocardiography and complementary imaging modalities. Register now and take advantage of the early registration rates! 

Exciting sessions you won’t want to miss include:

• Clinical Pathologic Conference: Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital – Special Session with the New England Journal of Medicine
• Aerospace Cardiology – featuring a NASA astronaut
• Sound Saves Lives – featuring Cameron Smith from the Minnesota Vikings
• New Research – featuring E21 grant recipients and WASE
• Fetal Symposium – In the Midst of a Revolution

Download the Schedule at a Glace and register today!

ASE is pleased to announce the establishment of the Cardio-Oncology Specialty Interest Group (SIG). ASE members Alexandra Gardner, RDCS, and Henry Cheng, MD, have organized this SIG to provide a forum for physicians and sonographers who perform echocardiograms on patients undergoing cancer treatments and survivors to share knowledge. Other leaders in the field, including Juan Lopez-Mattei, MD, FASE, (@onco_cardiology), will be involved to inform and advance this community. Recent advances in the field, since the publication of the ASE/EACVI guideline “Evaluation of Adult Patients Before and After Cancer Therapy,” will also help guide the direction of this SIG.

Interested in joining this group? Learn more here.

ASE SIGs are volunteer-led groups created to bring together members who have similar interests in emerging, specialized areas of cardiovascular ultrasound. SIGs provide a forum for networking, knowledge sharing, and the development of SIG-specific programs and services within ASE. Learn more about ASE SIGs here.

Below are three grant opportunities in amyloid that may of particular interest to our ASE members involved in research and quality initiatives. Please see below for more details on these opportunities from Pfizer.

“Pfizer Global Medical Grants (GMG) supports the global healthcare community’s independent initiatives (e.g., research, quality improvement, or education) to improve patient outcomes in areas of unmet medical need that are aligned with Pfizer’s medical and/or scientific strategies.

Pfizer’s GMG competitive grant program involves a publicly posted Request for Proposal (RFP) that provides detail regarding a general area of interest, sets timelines for review and approval, and notes who will make final grant decisions. Organizations are invited to submit an application addressing the gaps as outlined in the RFP.

For all independent medical grants, the grant requester (and ultimately the grantee) is responsible for the design, implementation, and conduct of the independent initiative supported by the grant. Pfizer must not be involved in any aspect of project development, nor the conduct of the independent program.

Please scroll down to find information on the following three RFPs:

1. Quality Improvement Grants to Support Development of Cardiac Amyloid Centers
2. Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis Fellowship
3. Local Level Educational Grants Program to Increase Awareness & Understanding of Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM)

Refer to complete details in the full RFP documents. If you have questions regarding these RFPs, please direct them in writing to Amanda Stein, Grant Officer (amanda.j.stein@pfizer.com).

1. Request for Proposals (RFP): Quality Improvement Grants to Support Development of Cardiac Amyloid Centers

Date RFP Issued:  February 8, 2021
Geographic Scope:  United States
Clinical Area:  Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM)
Link to full RFP:  Quality Improvement Grants to Support Development of Cardiac Amyloid Centers
Application Due Date:  April 8, 2021
Specific Area of Interest:  Projects that will be considered for Pfizer support will focus on supporting the development of cardiac amyloid centers that provide leadership, best practices, support and/or training of HCPs within a multidisciplinary team environment in order to improve the quality of care for cardiac amyloidosis patients.

2. Request for Proposals (RFP): Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis Fellowship

Date RFP Issued:  February 8, 2021
Geographic Scope:  United States
Clinical Area:  Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM)
Link to full RFP:  Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis Fellowship
Application Due Date:  June 15, 2021
Specific Area of Interest:  It is our intent to support institutions with fellowship programs for Cardiologists that have a strong focus on clinical practice, research, and education to further the understanding of transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis.

3. Request for Proposals (RFP): Local Level Educational Grants Program to Increase Awareness & Understanding of Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM)

Date RFP Issued:  February 8, 2021
Geographic Scope:  United States
Clinical Area:  Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM)
Link to full RFP:  Local Level Educational Grants Program to Increase Awareness & Understanding of Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM)
Application Due Date:  2021 application windows – please see RFP for details
Specific Area of Interest:  Projects that will be considered for Pfizer support will include local/community activities that focus on improving the care of patients by:

• Educating [HCPs] to increase awareness and enable appropriate patient identification by closing knowledge gaps in disease epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and emerging treatment paradigms.
• Addressing barriers to appropriate diagnosis and strategies that reduce burdens for patients and providers along the pathway to appropriate diagnosis
• Exploring strategies that empower patients to play an active role in understanding TTR amyloidosis and decision making regarding available diagnostic and treatment options
• Increasing awareness of the changing epidemiology of TTR amyloidosis with a focus on the prevalence of hereditary ATTR and wild-type ATTR subtypes as the science continues to evolve
• Increasing awareness of at risk and undiagnosed populations with TTR amyloidosis with a focus on improving strategies that facilitate the appropriate diagnosis of patients early in the disease course before overt cardiomyopathy has ensued [e.g. populations with electrical disturbances, valvular disease, orthopedic manifestations, and cardio-oncology diseases (i.e. Light Chain Amyloidosis)]
• Increasing awareness of bone radiotracer scintigraphy as a non-invasive alternative to invasive endomyocardial biopsy for the appropriate diagnosis of TTR cardiac amyloidosis in select patients
• Supporting the dissemination of information related to the pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic management of ATTR-CM
• Addressing geographic and racial healthcare disparities
• Addressing challenges to appropriate diagnoses and caring for patients during an era of increased telehealth utilization
• Supporting the development of cardiac amyloid centers that provide leadership, best practices, support and/or training of HCPs within a multidisciplinary team environment in order to improve the quality of care for cardiac amyloidosis patients.”

The February JASE contains, “Pediatric Heart Network Echocardiographic Z Scores: Comparison with Other Published Models,” by Leo Lopez, MD, FASE, et al. Dr. Lopez commented, “Echo Z-scores are used widely in pediatrics to determine normal reference ranges, but few data exist comparing the various Z-score models that have been published. This article highlights the differences among the most popular Z-score models (including the recently published Pediatric Heart Network Z-score model) as well as the limitations with using an individual model for specific therapeutic guidelines in various disease states.”

Additional clinical investigations in this issue focus on RVEF by 3D echo and its prognostic value, LV strain, exercise echocardiography, LA mechanics as markers of risk, and impact of appropriateness of an echo order. A state-of-the-art review explores usefulness of stress echo in the management of patients treated with anticancer drugs. Several brief research communications and letters to the editor round out the explorations.

February is American Heart Month, and ASE President Judy Hung, MD, FASE, has dedicated her President’s Message to our members, “The Heart of the ASE.” The ASE Education Calendar pulses with opportunities.

The JASE Submission Overview webinar, presented last Tuesday by JASE Editor-in-Chief, Michael Picard, MD, FASE, along with Associate Editor, Benjamin Eidem, MD, FASE, and Deputy Editor, Victor Mor-Avi, PhD, FASE, was a resounding success. The webinar slide sets, a succinct tutorial on creating an optimal submission, are housed on the JASE homepage, and the recorded webinar, which is free for members, is located on ASE’s Learning Hub.

During the month of January, two ASE members were recognized for Going the Extra Mile and received a GEM award!

• Yvette Carvallo, RDCS, RVS, FASE
• Christin Reese, RCS

Read what their nominators had to say about them!

Do you know an ASE member who’s gone the extra mile? Join us in celebrating ASE members who are making the world a better place, be it for their dedication to the field of cardiovascular ultrasound, being an outstanding mentor to students or fellows, their commitment to quality patient care, a milestone service anniversary, or congratulating them on a major accomplishment. Learn more about how to nominate someone here.