FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Angie Porter
919-297-7152
APorter@ASEcho.org
ASE Publishes Updated Guideline to Improve Care for Heart Failure Patients
with Implanted Medical Devices
(DURHAM, NC, September 10, 2024)—A new guideline from the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) aims to provide more detail on the best imaging strategies for managing and improving care for heart failure patients with surgically implanted left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) and temporary mechanical circulatory support (TMCS) devices.
Advances over the past several years prompted the need for an updated perspective on the role of echocardiography and multimodality imaging to evaluate and manage potential complications associated with temporary and durable LVADs and TMCS devices. Recommendations for Multimodality Imaging of Patients with Left Ventricular Assist Devices and Temporary Mechanical Support: Updated Recommendations from the American Society of Echocardiography is an update to the Society’s original guideline published in 2015.
“This new guideline document serves as an update to the 2015 comprehensive ASE LVAD guideline. We provide detailed information and recommendations on TMCS devices, and we define the contemporary role of echocardiography and multimodality imaging in patient selection, pre-intra-and post-procedural surveillance, and troubleshooting with focus on the HM3 LVAD,” said lead author Dr. Jerry Estep, the Division Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston. “We hope the framework we provide will improve patient outcomes by providing the best imaging strategies before and after durable and temporary device implantation.”
Many principles and recommendations detailed in ASE’s original 2015 guideline are still current and valid, and this updated document includes several of the previously published key points for the use of echocardiography. Additionally, it addresses new devices, expands upon the role of multimodality imaging and acknowledges the growing role of point-of-care ultrasound in evaluating patients with mechanical circulatory support. The writing group includes experts from multiple disciplines who hope the document will encourage future studies to continue advancing the field.
The new guideline is published in the September 2024 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. All guidelines published by ASE are available at ASEcho.org/Guidelines.
About American Society of Echocardiography
The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) is the Society for Cardiovascular Ultrasound Professionals™. ASE is the largest global organization for cardiovascular ultrasound imaging serving physicians, sonographers, nurses, veterinarians, and scientists and as such is the leader and advocate, setting practice standards and guidelines for the field. The Society is committed to advancing cardiovascular ultrasound to improve lives. For more information, visit the ASE website ASEcho.org or social media pages on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, or Instagram.
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