Transhepatic echocardiography: a novel approach for imaging in left ventricle assist device patients with difficult acoustic windows.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

A significant proportion of left ventricle assist device (LVAD) patients have very difficult transthoracic echocardiographic images. The aim of this study was to find an echocardiographic window which would provide better visualization of the heart in LVAD patients with limited acoustic windows.

Methods and results

Based on the anatomic relationships in LVAD patients, a right intercostal transhepatic approach was proposed. By using a computer simulator, we searched for the appropriate probe orientation. Further, 15 ambulatory LVAD patients (age 56 ± 15 years, 73% males) underwent two echocardiographic studies: one normal transthoracic echocardiography following the institutional protocol (Echo 1) and a second study which included the transhepatic approach (Echo 2). The

SUBMITTER: Strachinaru M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7167747 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature