Pertains to Strain? November JASE Has You Covered!

The November issue of JASE is all about strain and is now online. This focus issue features a new guideline titled, “Clinical Applications of Strain Echocardiography: A Clinical Consensus Statement From the American Society of Echocardiography Developed in Collaboration With the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging of the European Society of Cardiology.” Lead authors James D. Thomas, MD, FASE, and Thor Edvardsen, MD, FESC, remark, “We are delighted to publish ‘Clinical Applications of Strain Echocardiography: A Clinical Consensus Statement.’ This important document is the result of a collaborative effort between ASE and EACVI. In recent years, myocardial strain (a measure of myocardial deformation) has shown great promise in multiple clinical conditions, and now we have expert recommendations of just where measurements of strain may be of most value, including the whole gamut of heart failure, cardio-oncology, significant valve disease, pulmonary hypertension, congenital heart disease and many other clinical entities. Designed to serve both novice and seasoned practitioners, this Consensus Statement is an essential resource for anyone utilizing strain echocardiography in their practice. On behalf of our co-authors, we welcome a close read of this consensus and hope it will be of value in your practice.”

Additional cutting-edge studies explore various aspects of strain. Original investigations explore right atrial strain and volume in cardiomyopathy, LV and atrial strain in mitral annulus calcification, deep learning assessment of LV strain, four-chamber strain during cancer therapy, RV metrics in system sclerosis associated pulmonary arterial hypertension, and surveillance echocardiography in adults with congenital heart disease. Readers can look forward to a state-of-the-art review about the role of left atrial strain in identifying patients at elevated stroke risk, especially those with low CHA2DS2-VASc scores. The brief research communications section examines left atrial strain index in patients with HFpEF, optimal left atrium strain acquisition and measurement in clinical practice, and left atrial functional reserve and recurrence of atrial arrythmias in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation. A few editorial comments and letters to the editor round out this issue.

In this month’s President’s Message, Dr. Wiener details ASE’s current advocacy efforts on the Hill and at the AMA as the voice of cardiac ultrasound for legislative and regulatory issues.

Tune into our Author Spotlight page for interviews between JASE Editor-in-Chief Patricia Pellikka, MD, FASE, and authors of recently published papers. July’s interview features Sherif F. Nagueh, MD, FASE, discussing ASE’s newest guideline, “Recommendations for the Evaluation of Left Ventricular Diastolic Function by Echocardiography and for Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Diagnosis: An Update from the American Society of Echocardiography.”

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