title: The role of echocardiography in the management of the sources of embolism.
abstract: The echocardiographic diagnosis of cardiac thrombi, vegetations and tumors as well as the identification of predisposing conditions such as patent foramen ovale, aortic atherosclerosis and other minor causes (e.g., mitral valve prolapse, mitral and aortic valve calcification) have crucial clinical relevance, affecting the choice of surgery and/or of pharmaceutical therapy in the setting of patients presenting embolism. The echocardiographic assessment helps not only for the retrospective diagnosis of sources of embolism but also for the prevention of events in asymptomatic patients. Echocardiography can also distinguish normal variants and artifacts from cardiac masses and tumors. Echocardiographic characterization/typology of cardiac sources of embolism is currently below par when compared with cardiac MRI, the current gold standard. Nevertheless, echocardiography remains the 'first-line' imaging tool, because of its low cost and the possibility to add easily available, functional and structural information at the patient's bedside.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Echocardiography, Cardioangiology with CCU, Department of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, Federico II University Hospital, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raia
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Palma
authors.forename: Ciro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Santoro
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galderisi
mesh_terms: D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003328:Coronary Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D004452:Echocardiography; D004617:Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D004699:Endocardium / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008945:Mitral Valve Prolapse / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology