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Echocardiographic Assessment of Cardiac Disease

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Pediatric and Congenital Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery and Intensive Care

Abstract

Echocardiography is the mainstay for the assessment of cardiac structure and function in patients with possible or known heart disease from fetal life to adulthood. The indications for echocardiography include signs and symptoms such as cyanosis, heart failure, arrhythmia, the presence of systemic or syndromic disorders associated with cardiac abnormalities, and a family history of inherited cardiac diseases. In patients with known heart disease, the echocardiogram provides important information about the effects of the disease on cardiac hemodynamics and function and is used to direct medical and surgical therapies. Two- and three-dimensional imaging delineates the structures of the heart and their relationships to each other. Color, pulsed wave, and continuous wave Doppler can identify abnormal patterns of blood flow and can estimate pressure gradients between chambers. Assessment of cardiac function is performed using two- and three-dimensional imaging and Doppler modalities. Quantitative echocardiography provides important information about the size and function of the vessels and chambers.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA

    Sarah Chambers

  2. Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA

    Leo Lopez

  3. Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA

    Leo Lopez

Authors
  1. Sarah Chambers
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  2. Leo Lopez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah Chambers .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital Colorado, Univ. of Colorado, Denver, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    Eduardo M. Da Cruz

  2. Dept. Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital Colorado, Univ. of Colorado, Denver, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    Dunbar Ivy

  3. Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Children's Hospital Colorado, Univ. of Colorado, Denver, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    James Jaggers

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag London

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Chambers, S., Lopez, L. (2014). Echocardiographic Assessment of Cardiac Disease. In: Da Cruz, E., Ivy, D., Jaggers, J. (eds) Pediatric and Congenital Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery and Intensive Care. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4619-3_222

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4619-3_222

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-4618-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-4619-3

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