Stress Echocardiography: the Role in Assessing Valvular Heart Diseases

AbstractPurpose of ReviewStress echocardiography (SE) has clinical utility beyond its conventional use for the evaluation of myocardial ischemia. More specifically, SE has been shown to have significant clinical value in patients with valvular heart disease (VHD), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and congenital heart disease (CHD). Echocardiography laboratories providing services to such patient should be familiar with the principals of SE beyond coronary artery disease to ensure its optimum application and performance.Recent FindingsThe increased demand for SE standardization specifically in patients with VHD instigated recent recommendations by relevant cardiology societies.SummaryThis manuscript reviews the key concepts in performance and interpretation of hemodynamic SE in patients with VHD and HCM, including patient selection, stress modality of choice, and integration of all diagnostic and prognostic information.
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - Category: Radiology Source Type: research