Transesophageal echocardiography with stress for the evaluation of patients with coronary artery disease.
Echocardiography permits a comprehensive assessment of resting regional and global left ventricular function, the presence and extent of inducible myocardial ischemia, and the identification of myocardial viability. Accordingly, stress echocardiography has become a valuable tool for the evaluation of patient with known or suspected coronary artery disease. In some patients however, a suboptimal transthoracic echocardiogram may limit the performance of interpretation of the test. Transesophageal echocardiography in combination with stress has been recently used for the evaluation of patients with coronary artery disease. This technique is semi-invasive, more time-consuming, and requires a greater degree of expertise on the part of the personnel assisting with the test. In general, complications and side-effects are self-limited and rarely affect the diagnostic accuracy of the test. Based on its ability to provide high quality images, transesophageal stress echocardiography should be considered in patients who have suboptimal transthoracic ultrasound window for the quantitative assessment of myocardial wall-thickening in clinical investigations of ischemic heart disease.
Panza
J A
JA
Section of Echocardiography, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. panzaj@nih.gov
D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial; D002316:Cardiotonic Agents; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004176:Dipyridamole; D004280:Dobutamine; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods*; D005080:Exercise Test; D006801:Humans; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists; D002316:Cardiotonic Agents; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D004280:Dobutamine; D004176:Dipyridamole