title: [Echocardiography as physiological function examination].
abstract: Echocardiography is one of the most important examinations in patients with heart disease. Since high temporal resolution is necessary to assess the function of a "beating heart", there is no alternative modality, such as cardiac-CT or MRI. Patients are assessed for their cardiac functions, i.e., left ventricular systolic and diastolic function, and valvular function with blood flow velocity by echocardiography. Using newly developed equipment, including portability, we also examined cardiac function by 3D echocardiography and the speckle tracking method. Echocardiography plays an important role in the diagnosis and assessment of physiological function in heart disease patients; however, it depends on the sonographer's skill and knowledge whether it is possible to obtain important and valuable information by echocardiography. It is necessary to plan a systematic educational program for residents and sonographers.
authors.affiliation: Intensive Care Unit, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan. masumi@fmu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masumi Iwai
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Takano
mesh_terms: D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left