Cardiovascular examination using hand-held cardiac ultrasound
Sam Jenkins, Mohamed G. Shiha, Eron Yones, James Wardley, Alisdair Ryding, Chris Sawh, Marcus Flather, Paul Morris, Andrew J. Swift, Vassilios S. Vassiliou, Pankaj Garg
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.