The state-of-the-art review article, “Fact or Artifact in Two-Dimensional Echocardiography: Avoiding Misdiagnosis and Missed Diagnosis,” by Philippe B. Bertrand, MD, MSc, Robert A. Levine, MD, Eric M. Isselbacher, MD, MSc, and Pieter M. Vandervoort, MD appears in the May issue of JASE. When asked the impetus for choosing this topic, Dr. Vandervoort, from Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg healthcare facility in Genk, Belgium, said, “In today’s world of ever faster technological evolution and increasing expectations on quality of care, correct understanding and interpretation of echocardiographic images can make all the difference. We hope this paper will help you make that difference for your patients.” Included with the article are 21 videos, excellent for use in teaching, that show things such as reverberation artifact in the left atrial appendage mimicking thrombus and also the genesis of a side-lobe artifact. The May JASE also includes articles on right ventricular volume and function, left ventricular function, echocardiography in children and fetuses, vascular heart disease, coronary heart disease, and cardiac allograft vasculopathy. Also in this JASE is an editorial from ASE President Susan E. Wiegers, MD, FASE and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions President James C. Blankenship, MD, “Concerns regarding the 2015 ACR/ ACC/ AHA/ AATS/ ACEP/ ASNC/ NASCI/ SAEM/ SCCT/ SCMR/ SCPC/ SNMMI/ STR/ STS: Appropriate Utilization of Cardiovascular Imaging in Emergency Department Patients with Chest Pain.”
May 9, 2016 By