Snow Time Like the Present: Polar Plunge into December JASE

The December issue of JASE is now online and features state-of-the-art review “Multimodality Imaging in Evaluating and Guiding Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion.” Lead author Renuka Jain, MD, FACC, FASE, remarks, “‘Multimodality Imaging in Evaluating and Guiding Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion’ provides a comprehensive roadmap of utility of advanced imaging for pre-procedure planning, intra-procedure guidance, and post-procedure surveillance. The imaging expertise of the interventional echocardiographer (IE) is critical in ensuring procedural safety, device positioning, and long-term outcomes. The figures provide a practical step-by-step roadmap for LAAO that integrates TEE, ICE, and cardiac CT.”

Readers can look forward to a second state-of-the-art review titled, “Predicting Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Response with Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Accompanied by editorial comments, the original investigations section explores a variety of topics including deep learning for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) detection, the role of venous ultrasound assessment in management of heart failure, echocardiographic features of varying types of amyloid cardiomyopathy, and three forms of congenital heart disease. A collection of brief research communications examines the effect of mavacamten on serial speckle-tracking strain in patients with HCM, age-adjusted echo parameters for differentiating cardiac amyloidosis and HCM, the effect of pregnancy on the progression of aortic valve disease in patients with bicuspid aortic valves, and prenatal prediction of symptoms in fetuses with vascular ring. Letters to the editor discuss artificial intelligence’s role in echo interpretation and rethinking cardiac size indexing.

In this month’s President’s Message, Jonathan Lindner, MD, FASE, and Monica Mukherjee, MD, MPH, FASE, detail ASE’s continued efforts to support research and innovation as new pressures challenge the field’s research environment.

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 December ASE Education Calendar for a listing of educational opportunities far and wide.