title: Application of echocardiography in resynchronization treatment of heart failure patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review the updated research progress about the application of echocardiography in resynchronization treatment of chronic heart failure patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data used in this review were from PubMed, published in English and using the key terms "heart failure", "echocardiography" and "cardiac resynchronization therapy".
  
  
  METHODS
  Relevant articles were reviewed and selected to address the stated purpose.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increasing numbers of studies have suggested the importance of echocardiography in resynchronization treatment of chronic heart failure patients. Echocardiography can evaluate atrioventricular, inter- and intra-ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony before cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), as a guidance to assess the optimal left ventricular (LV) pacing location, optimize the atrioventricular and interventricular delays and predict response to CRT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Echocardiography is both non invasive and easily repeatable, and plays a crucial role in appraisal of heart synchronism, instruction of actuator placement, optimization of the device procedure, and prediction of the response to CRT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Yan'an Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital, Kunming, Yunnan 650051, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Long
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Xue-Feng
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Guang
authors.forename: Zhi-Cheng
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D058406:Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D011859:Radiography