This Best of ASE DVD is packed with a superb compilation of talks that provide a fresh approach and review in understanding the role and clinical relevance of echocardiography during stress for identification, evaluation, risk stratification, and prognosis of patients who present with asymptomatic valvular heart disease and other non-ischemic cardiovascular diseases. This volume will review the different hemodynamic responses obtained during treadmill, bicycle, and pharmacological stress testing and the clinical utility of each to help identify which of these stressors and imaging modalities are most appropriate. The new Class IIa 2014 AHA/ACC guidelines for the management of patients with valvular heart disease are also reviewed in detail with a wide variety of teaching cases. Some of the highlight cases include: low gradient aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation with stress induced pulmonary hypertension, microvascular disease assessment, and stress testing for functional capacity in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients.
Also included in this volume is a review of stress echocardiography interpretation with overview of coronary distribution, wall motion evaluation with interpretation, as well as hemodynamic responses and ventricular function to the different stressors. Other topics include when to use contrast, how to avoid pitfalls in interpretation which may result in false positive or negative test outcomes, and a review of the pros and cons of 3D image acquisition versus conventional 2D imaging during dobutamine and stress echo testing. It will also provide a comprehensive review of diastolic stress testing for non-ischemic dyspneic patients and the current methods for evaluating impaired relaxation during exercise.
This series is a definite must for clinicians in determining risk stratification, management, and disease severity in asymptomatic, non-ischemic patients with valve disease or other impaired cardiovascular diseases that are associated with a poor prognosis.