The January issue of JASE includes, “Guidelines for the Evaluation of Prosthetic Valve Function With Cardiovascular Imaging: A Report From the American Society of Echocardiography Developed in Collaboration With the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance and the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography.” Author William A. Zoghbi, MD, FASE, remarks, “This new guideline on prosthetic valves is very much needed, as the field has changed so much since 2009, with the introduction of percutaneous valves and improvements in 3D echocardiography and multimodality imaging. The guideline is comprehensive and provides a pragmatic approach to the evaluation of prosthetic valve function with echocardiography and details the role of advanced imaging with cardiac CT and MRI.”
Additionally, this issue contains a clinical investigation evaluating the relationship of ventricular strain pattern and the need for a pacemaker after aortic valve replacement, and another assessing resting LV strain and ischemia on stress echo. A preclinical investigation assesses the impact of atherosclerotic risk factors on therapeutic cavitation. Readers can look forward to a state-of-the-art review on the pathophysiology and clinical utility of strain assessment in aortic stenosis. Three brief research communications include reports on gaps in contemporary echo reporting quality for mechanisms of mitral regurgitation, variations in interventional echo radiation exposure based on procedure type and modality, and the effectiveness of audio output from an AI method for layperson recognition of pulmonary edema or COVID lung infection on ultrasound images. One correspondence on TEE imaging approaches for identifying mitral valve anatomy is also included.
Dr. Pellikka’s editorial reflects on the hard work contributed by the entire JASE team and lists the top reviewers and guest editors of the journal in 2023. Dr. Eidem’s President’s Message features an update from the respective editors of each of ASE’s three flagship journals: Echo Magazine, CASE, and JASE, which all issue new content each month. Please see the January ASE Education Calendar for a listing of educational opportunities far and wide.