Archives for July 2023

Early Registration Ends August 30

Register and book your accommodations for ASE’s 11th Annual Echo Florida course, taking place October 7-9, 2023, at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts. Register by August 30, 2023, and save $100.

Course Director Linda D. Gillam, MD, FASE, and Co-Director Matt Umland, ACS, RDCS, FASE, have assembled an outstanding faculty and created a comprehensive program with dedicated sessions on cardiomyopathies, coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, pericardial disease, heart failure, emerging technologies, complex congenital heart disease and case-based demonstrations on the role of 2D, and real time 3D/4D echocardiography, as well as strain imaging. Registration for Echo Florida includes many offerings, such as 23.50 CME/MOC credits, two Science & Technology Theaters, a choice of several small group workshops offering hands-on learning, and much more!

The July 2023 Echo magazine is now online! This issue contains interesting articles written by ASE members, including:

• Membership in the American Society of Echocardiography: An Unforgettable Journey, page 4
• Sonographer Volunteer of the Month-July, Congratulations Denise Ignatowski, BS, RDCS, FASE, page 6
• The VExUS Exam, page 8
• Sonographer Career Pathways—Determining Your Journey, page 12
• The Who, What, When, Why, and How’s from ASE’s New Fetal Echocardiography Guideline, page 16
• Highlights from the ASE 2023 Cardiovascular Ultrasound Trends Report, page 22

Echo magazine is a monthly publication offering an outlet for ASE members to contribute interesting articles or images related to cardiovascular ultrasound that are not research articles/images. The article submission deadline for the October 2023 issue is August 15. Review the author submission guideline requirements on formatting, word length, etc. on ASE’s website. Email Echo@ASEcho.org with questions and read past issues at ASEcho.org/EchoMagazine.

One important role of ASE members is the ability to nominate colleagues (or yourself) for prestigious ASE Awards. Winning an ASE Award is a significant honor, and recipients will be celebrated by the Society throughout the upcoming year—including during the 2024 Scientific Sessions. Email the ASE Awards Committee by September 15, 2023, to nominate a friend, colleague, peer, mentor, or yourself. We are currently seeking nominations for the following two awards:

ASE Awards

• Richard Popp Excellence in Teaching Award (ASE Member nomination)
• ASE Mentorship Award (ASE Member nomination)



In addition, two other awards will be selected by the president Physician Lifetime Achievement Award and the Meritorious Service Award. Four other awards will be selected by the Councils including the Sonographer Lifetime Achievement Award, Outstanding Achievement in Perioperative Echocardiography, Founders’ Award for Lifetime Achievement in Echocardiography for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, and Circulation & Vascular Ultrasound Council (CAVUS) Luminary Award.



Contact Awards@ASEcho.org with questions.

The deadline to apply is Friday, July 28

Are you looking to share your knowledge with an eager, rising echo professional? Or maybe you are seeking a mentor to help you navigate the ever-changing landscape of the field and learn how to get more involved with ASE? Let’s find your Mentor Match!

Mentor Match is a six-month mentorship program that pairs ASE members based on career path, areas of practice, and professional development goals. The program aims to connect our vast international network of members, fostering lasting relationships to promote growth within the Society and the field of cardiovascular ultrasound. Mentor Match has successfully matched members in the past with excellent results, and we are excited to expand this program. The application is open to active ASE members, and the deadline to apply is Friday, July 28.

Attention, ASE members: Submit your images to the ASE Echo Image Calendar contest! This popular member renewal gift enables members to upload exceptional cardiovascular images for consideration in the Society’s 2024 Image Calendar. Members can submit images now through August 9. Please include a title and brief description with your image submission.

To upload your images, visit the ASE 2023 Calendar Contest Library on Connect@ASE:

1. Log in to Connect@ASE using your ASE username (email address) and password.
2. Using the left navigation, scroll to Libraries and click on Image Library.
3. Click on the folder named ASE 2023 Calendar Content.
4. Click Upload Resource under Folder Contents to upload your image(s). Image file size cannot exceed 30 MB.
5. Upload as many images as you would like.
6. Remember to include a title and brief description of your image.



All members who renew by December 31, 2023, will receive the 2024 calendar in the mail*. Questions? Email ASE Marketing Coordinator Kayla Van Ormer.

*Not including members who live in locations that are not served by the USPS

The latest issue of CASE is now available with some intriguing reports, including “Severe Spontaneous Echocardiographic Contrast in a Patient With Normal Heart and Chronic Lymphocytic Lymphoma” by Rahul M. Prasad, MD et al. CASE Editor-in-Chief, Vincent L. Sorrell, MD, FASE, remarked, “In a striking report, Prasad et al. demonstrate a patient with severe spontaneous echocardiographic contrast (SEC) observed in all cardiac chambers mimicking the appearance of an echo after the injection of a manufactured ultrasound enhancing agent. Interestingly, their patient had a structurally normal heart without SEC on an earlier echo. This CASE serves to remind us that at times, we simply must report what we see, but will be unable to confidently solve the mechanistic mysteries of the heart.”

This issue features another case in the Atypical Presentations of Heart Disease category, which supplies graphic images of the fractured sternal wire puncturing the RV free wall in a rare post-sternotomy complication. Additionally, there are two reports in both the Valvular Heart Disease and Cardiac Tumors and Pseudotumors categories, including one of a patient with severe TR as a new cause for pulmonary vein Doppler systolic flow reversal. Insights from Veterinary Clinical Cardiovascular Medicine are presented in two dog cases, including a report of the interventional echo studies and percutaneous structural interventions performed in dogs as they stent a pulmonary artery compressed by a tumor. Relating the art form of music to that of medicine, Dr. Sorrell’s editorial categorizes the operational styles of echo labs into genres of music.

We are excited to announce the 2022 CASE of the Year, Extrinsic Circumflex Coronary Artery Compression and Occlusion by Mycotic Aneurysm of Left Aortic Sinus, which was presented by Ramesh C. Bansal, MD, FACC, FASE, on behalf of his co-authors during the ShowCASE session at ASE 2023. Check out the CASE homepage to read about this article and the other four finalists who represented the top CASEs published in 2022, as chosen by the CASE Editorial Team. The ShowCASE session also featured the MACH-1 Rapid-Fire portion, where nine sonographers presented their cases on one slide in under 60 seconds. All presenters did a remarkable job, setting a high standard for future ShowCASEs. Submit YOUR CASE report, and maybe you will be chosen to present at ASE 2024!

Virtual Experience, September 30 – October 1, 2023

Registration is now open for the 2nd Annual Echo in Pediatric & Congenital Heart Disease Echo Access Virtual Experience, which will take place September 30-October 1, 2023. This two-day virtual course will contain echo-specific education for the pediatric community. Expert physician and sonographer faculty, led by Course Co-Chairs Bruce Landeck, II, MD, FASE, and Melissa Wasserman, RDCS, RCCS, FASE, will discuss current technologies with a particular focus on how they can be effectively applied in the clinical setting.

This year’s program is aimed primarily toward sonographers, both adult and congenital cardiology, and the sessions will focus on career development and well-being. All sessions will have dedicated Question and Answer time where faculty will be joining live to answer questions. Participants can earn up to 13 CME/MOC credits. Remember to log in to your ASE Member Portal before registering to receive discounted registration fees.

We are pleased to announce that Peter S. Rahko, MD, FASE, who has contributed his time and expertise to the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography (JASE) for many years, officially began his role as the publication’s Deputy Editor on July 1, 2023. Dr. Rahko has a deep appreciation for where JASE has been, where it is currently, and where it can go.

Dr. Rahko is the successor of Victor Mor-Avi, PhD, FASE, who spent the last 14 and a half years as the Deputy Editor of JASE before retiring from the position in June 2023. During his tenure, Dr. Mor-Avi worked with three JASE Editors-in-Chief and played an integral role in building JASE into a powerful force in the international cardiovascular ultrasound community. ASE expresses our sincere appreciation and admiration for Dr. Mov-Avi for his many years of dedication to the Journal!

ASE 2023 may have recently ended, but we are already looking ahead to next year’s Scientific Sessions! ASE is seeking session proposals for our 35^th Annual Scientific Sessions, which will be held June 14-16, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. Your session proposals enable us to provide cutting-edge content to meeting attendees. Sessions should:

• Highlight innovation and advances in Cardiovascular Ultrasound in clinical, educational, and research applications
• Promote current and new ASE guidelines to advance quality in Cardiovascular Ultrasound to enhance clinical decision-making
• Facilitate the acquisition of practical knowledge, skills, and experience by attendees
• Provide balanced content for physicians, sonographers, cardiovascular care team members, and emerging/early-career faculty
• Address perceived skills and knowledge gaps across all levels of expertise
• Include a variety of presentation and learning formats to enhance educational engagement and address different learning styles

Deadline for all submissions: August 31, 2023

Notification of selected sessions: November 30, 2023