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Review
. 2022 Mar;20(1):1-9.
doi: 10.1007/s12574-021-00540-x. Epub 2021 Aug 2.

Cardiovascular examination using hand-held cardiac ultrasound

Affiliations
Review

Cardiovascular examination using hand-held cardiac ultrasound

Sam Jenkins et al. J Echocardiogr. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Echocardiography is the first-line imaging modality for assessing cardiac function and morphology. The miniaturisation of ultrasound technology has led to the development of hand-held cardiac ultrasound (HCU) devices. The increasing sophistication of available HCU devices enables clinicians to more comprehensively examine patients at the bedside. HCU can augment clinical exam findings by offering a rapid screening assessment of cardiac dysfunction in both the Emergency Department and in cardiology clinics. Possible implications of implementing HCU into clinical practice are discussed in this review paper.

Keywords: Hand-held cardiac ultrasound; Jugular venous pressure; Left ventricular ejection fraction; Left ventricular hypertrophy; Valvular heart disease; Wall motion abnormality.

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Conflict of interest statement

PG is an advisor for Pie Medical Imaging and Medis Medical Imaging. James Wardley lists commercial relationships with AstraZeneca, Bayer and Novartis. Sam Jenkins, Mohamed Shiha, Eron Jones, Alisdair Ryding, Chris Sawh, Marcus Flather, Andrew Swift and Vassilios Vassiliou declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comparison of main handheld echocardiographic systems available. PLAX parasternal long axis, PSAX parasternal short axis, A4C apical 4-chamber, CD colour Doppler
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comprehensive cardiac examination by Clarius PA HD. B-mode, colour Doppler and M-mode are demonstrated in parasternal views. In apical views, similar views and pulse wave Doppler for mitral inflow are demonstrated. V1 = peak early filling velocity, V2 = peak late filling velocity
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Ultrasound-measured jugular venous pressure imaged in a semi-recumbent position. Top: transverse view of a collapsed IJV. The green arrow points towards the collapsed IJV. Bottom: longitudinal axis of the IJV. The IJV tapers until reaching the point of collapse. The red arrow indicates the point at which the vein is collapsed. CCA common carotid artery, IJV internal jugular vein

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