Book Description
Transesophageal echocardiography allows a very precise evaluation of the overall cardiac performance (preload, afterload and contractility) as well as the regional ventricular function (systolic wall motion abnormality).The assessment of important parameters of cardiac function, eg. cardiac output, can be performed independently by two-dimensional echocardiography and Doppler sampling of the aortic valve. The integration of various hemodynamic parameters in combination with echocardiographic data allows the calculation of the La Place relation, end-systolic contractile indices, etc. Experimental studies have shown the potential use of intravenous contrast echocardiography in assessing myocardial perfusion. The book is primarily intended for young anesthesiologists and residents in ICUs who are learning the technique of transesophageal echocardiography but also for cardiologists, internists and radiologists who assess cardiac patients.