Transesophageal echocardiography: a complementary view of the heart.
Transesophageal echocardiography has been widely used as a diagnostic tool during the past two decades to detect cardiac abnormalities that are not visible or poorly visible with transthoracic echocardiography. At present, transesophageal echocardiography is a cornerstone of modern diagnosis of several cardiac diseases, providing diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic information. In this review, the present status of transesophageal echocardiography not only as a diagnostic tool, underlining its effects on clinical decision making, but also as a monitoring adjunct for many interventional cardiac procedures is examined.
Agricola
Eustachio
E
Division of Non Invasive Cardiology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milano, Italy. agricola.eustachio@hrs.it
Oppizzi
Michele
M
Melisurgo
Giulio
G
Margonato
Alberto
A
D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications; D016638:Critical Illness; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D004617:Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging