Echocardiography a Valuable View of the Heart

The advanced imaging technique called contrast echocardiography can have a significant impact on the diagnosis and treatment of people hospitalized with heart disease, says a report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Echocardiography works by bouncing sound waves into the body in order to get a detailed image of the moving heart.

If that image is not clear enough, it can be improved by injecting a substance - called a contrast agent - so sound waves reflect better.

After performing contrast echocardiography, there was significant improvement in a doctor's ability to interpret the findings.

Adding Dye Enhances Test

Study leader Dr. William A. Zoghbi, at the Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center in Houston, Texas says, "The importance of the study is that it is really the first time that we measured the impact of contrast echocardiography on assessment of ventricular function."

Ventricular function is a measure of the heart's blood-pumping ability.

In this trial of 632 patients, use of the technique avoided additional diagnostic procedures in 33 percent of cases and altered drug management in 10 percent of cases, says Dr. Zoghbi.

Contrast echocardiography was most useful in the intensive care unit, he says. Patients are usually sicker and have a lot of medical instruments in use, he says. "This is crucial for day-to-day patient management, particularly for hospitalized patients," says Dr. Zoghbi.

Test Helps in Complex Hospital Setting

The technology is widely available in US hospitals Dr. Zoghbi informs.

Further, "What we've shown is that contrast echocardiography is important in complex cases, where the first images are not clear enough," he notes. "In our experience, we use it in about 15 percent of patients that are hospitalized."

Dr. Kevin Wei, at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, agrees that the new study shows "the impact of contrast echocardiography extends to multiple situations."

The emergency room is definitely one of them, where a patient is evaluated for chest pain to determine whether the cause is a heart attack.

"But," he adds, "it also allows picking up blood clots that have not been seen before and, in general, by getting more diagnostic information to begin with, potentially avoiding the risks associated with additional testing."

Always consult your physician for more information.

<< Return to Previous Page