© 2003 by BMJ Publishing Group & British Cardiac Society
MINI-SYMPOSIUM
Contrast echocardiography for left ventricular opacification
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Harald Becher
Department of Cardiology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; harald.becher@orh.nhs.uk
Keywords: contrast echocardiography; left ventricular opacification
Abbreviations: 2D, two dimensional; 3D, three dimensional; AQ, acoustic quantification; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Echocardiography has been criticised of having only moderate reproducibility and of having a low sensitivity of changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Inadequate endocardial visualisation during echocardiography occurs in up to 20% of cases. Although image quality has been improved with the introduction of harmonic imaging,1,2 there are still a number of studies remaining of inadequate quality, and it is here that the use of contrast agents comes into its own.3 A number of studies have now been performed looking at the effect of contrast on assessment of cardiac regional and global function. This paper reviews the current and future clinical use of ultrasound contrast agents for assessment of left ventricular function.
The first licensed contrast agent in the UK was Levovist (Schering, Germany) and has now been followed by Optison (Amersham, UK) and Sonovue (Bracco, Italy) which are licensed for left ventricular opacification. Although infusions are preferential for
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Heart 2003 89: 1389-1390.[Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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