Ultrasonographic assessment of valvular disease using FoCUS

Abstract:

There is a myriad of situations where the doctors in care of acutely ill or unstable patients find themselves faced with a clinical suspicion of underlying cardiac valvular disease, but without the availability of either adequate equipment or adequately trained operator to perform a comprehensive echocardiography exam. In situations such as those, the implementation of a focused cardiac ultrasound exam (FoCUS) can yield crucial information for further patient management. It is necessary to be aware of the possibilities and limitations of the method in order to avoid errors in the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to the patient. When using FoCUS in the evaluation of the heart valves one should be very careful, and it is of utmost importance to emphasize that only major valve abnormalities can be evaluated with FoCUS, which, if observed, should be the trigger for referring the patient to a cardiologist for a complete echocardiographic examination.

Key words:
heart ultrasound, echocardiography, valvular heart disease, FoCUS