Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is a commonly performed procedure for the evaluation of cardiac tissue for transplant monitoring ( Video 173.1 ), myocarditis, drug toxicity, cardiomyopathy, and secondary cardiac involvement by systemic diseases and for diagnosis of cardiac masses. , This…
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in the world, affecting more than 3 million people in the United States alone. AF is defined as a supraventricular tachyarrhythmia characterized by uncoordinated atrial activation and consequent deterioration of mechanical…
Atrial Septal Defect Closure Aside from the bicuspid aortic valve, an atrial septal defect (ASD) is the most common congenital cardiac anomaly in adults with an approximate prevalence of 1 per 1000 individuals. This chapter focuses on echocardiographic imaging during…
Mitral valve (MV) disease is the most prevalent form of valvular disease worldwide. Moderate to severe and severe native mitral regurgitation (MR) are the most prevalent forms of significant valvular disease in the developed countries. In 2006, it was estimated…
Cardiovascular manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have been reported since the early years of the pandemic. Before the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), many of the cardiovascular findings resulted from immunosuppression and…
The term amyloidosis (from Greek ἄμυλον: amylon , starch) was popularized in the 19th century by the German pathologist Rudolf Virchow because of amyloid’s affinity for staining dyes with starch. It is clearly a misnomer because amyloid deposits are made…
Aortic dissection (AD) is a form of acute aortic syndrome (AAS). This syndrome encompasses several life-threatening clinical entities with overlapping features, including acute onset of chest pain, disruption of the aortic wall media, and a need for urgent medical care…
The pericardium is a membranous sac that envelops almost the entire heart (with the exception of the region of the left atrium around the pulmonary venous ostia) as well as the origins of the great cardiac vessels (the ascending aorta,…
Spectrum of Cardioembolism The heart and the aorta are the sources of cardioembolism to any organ. Major clinical presentations involve either acute neurologic dysfunction—transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke—or peripheral vascular disease (e.g., acute limb ischemia, splenic or renal infarcts).…
Trivial or mild degrees of pulmonic regurgitation (PR) are common in structurally normal hearts, and the presence of pathologic PR is rare in adults. Some degree of PR is present in between 5% and 78% in echocardiograms of patients with…