title: Utility of Echocardiogram in the Evaluation of Heart Murmurs.
abstract: Valvular heart disease is a common condition in today's patient population. Accurate characterization of vital cardiac structures has become crucial to early diagnosis and varied treatment options. The advent of ultrasound technology has had a large impact in cardiovascular medicine, particularly in the assessment of valvular heart disease. Today its versatility and availability have allowed it to become one of the most frequently ordered imaging tests for cardiovascular indications. Despite the tremendous evidence that suggests that clinical examinations are still standard of care, a large volume of referrals for echocardiograms suggests differently.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Hartford Hospital, 85 Seymour Street, Hartford, CT 06102, USA. Electronic address: padmanabhan.premkumar@hhchealth.org.
authors.forename: Padmanabhan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Premkumar
mesh_terms: D004452:Echocardiography / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D006337:Heart Murmurs / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D010808:Physical Examination; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
keywords: Cost-effective care; Echocardiogram; Murmur; Primary care; Valvular heart disease