title: Recommendations on the Echocardiographic Assessment of Aortic Valve Stenosis: A Focused Update from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging and the American Society of Echocardiography.
abstract: Echocardiography is the key tool for the diagnosis and evaluation of aortic stenosis. Because clinical decision-making is based on the echocardiographic assessment of its severity, it is essential that standards are adopted to maintain accuracy and consistency across echocardiographic laboratories. Detailed recommendations for the echocardiographic assessment of valve stenosis were published by the European Association of Echocardiography and the American Society of Echocardiography in 2009. In the meantime, numerous new studies on aortic stenosis have been published with particular new insights into the difficult subgroup of low gradient aortic stenosis making an update of recommendations necessary. The document focuses in particular on the optimization of left ventricular outflow tract assessment, low flow, low gradient aortic stenosis with preserved ejection fraction, a new classification of aortic stenosis by gradient, flow and ejection fraction, and a grading algorithm for an integrated and stepwise approach of aortic stenosis assessment in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Division of Adult Congenital and Valvular Heart Disease, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baumgartner
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Universidad Complutense de Madrid and CIBERCV, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bermejo
authors.affiliation: Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospitals, London, UK.
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Chambers
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Center for Cardiological Innovation, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, and University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Thor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Edvardsen
authors.affiliation: Heart Institute, Washington, District of Columbia.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.affiliation: Universtiy of Liège Hospital, GIGA Cardiovascular Science, Heart Valve Clinic, Imaging Cardiology, Liège, Belgium; Gruppo Villa Maria Care and Research, Anthea Hospital, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Patrizio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lancellotti
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: LeFevre
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Fletcher
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Otto
mesh_terms: D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D057791:Cardiac Imaging Techniques / Q000592:standards*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000592:standards*; D005060:Europe; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014694:Ventricular Outflow Obstruction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Aortic stenosis; Computed tomography; Echocardiography; Prognostic parameters; Quantification