We urge all members of the Society to contact their Senators by today or tomorrow (deadline is Thursday EOB Feb. 22) and request support of the Boozman-Welch Doc Cut Fix bill. This bill urges Senate action on the 3.37% Medicare physician fee schedule conversion factor reduction that went into place on January 1, 2024, and references year-over-year cuts, workforce shortages, and the need for long-term payment reform.

Here is an example of the message you can send to your U.S. Senate representatives:

“On behalf of the American Society of Echocardiography’s physicians and Medicare patients alike, I request your commitment to work together with your colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to include physician payment relief policies in the March 1st government funding legislation.”

Please contact your Senate offices (link goes to a site to help you identify your representative and send this message) and ask them to cosign this letter and support the medical community and your patients.

The latest issue of CASE is now available with intriguing reports, including “Coronary Artery Aneurysm Rupture in Kawasaki Disease and SARS-CoV-2 Infection” by Wood et al. Editor-In-Chief Vincent L. Sorrell, MD, FASE, remarked, “This CASE report describes an amazing rapid increase in coronary artery dimensions in a two month old with acute Kawasaki disease. Their images graphically demonstrate the profound changes seen with serial transthoracic echocardiography. The proximal coronaries were demonstrated to increase from normal size to large aneurysms with Z scores of >8 (RCA) and >20 (LAD) on day nine. I was flabbergasted by the massive dilation that occurred [over such a short time-frame] and saddened, but not entirely surprised, by the devastating clinical outcome.”

This issue presents two cases in Valvular Heart Disease, including one involving acute transvalvular MR after bioprosthetic MVR, and a report illustrating unique approaches to the management of acute prosthetic valve embolization including LVAD setting manipulation. Just Another Day in the Echo Lab offers two reports, one exemplifying the potential clinical merit of manufactured ultrasound enhancing agents to reveal the actual grade of MR, and another showing the value of TTE for patients presenting with a clinical syndrome suspicious for an acute myocardial infarction. Finally, a report for Veterinary Clinical Cardiovascular Medicine contains a surgical video with demonstrations of epicarditis and pericarditis in a dog, exploring the various origins of pericardial pathologies. Dr. Sorrell compares the impact of a worldwide pop star phenomenon to the daily impact of echo in this month’s editorial.

Looking for a journal to submit your case report to? We want to hear from you! Email us with questions or submit your report today. Be sure to check out the latest Sonographer Sound-Off and Unlock the CASE features on the CASE Homepage to view more extraordinary work from your colleagues.

Children’s Mercy Kansas City is the latest institution to join ASE’s ImageGuideEcho™ Registry, the nation’s first echo-specific clinical data registry for quality improvement. ImageGuideEcho Registry Committee Chair Jordan Strom, MD, MSc, FASE, says, “We are thrilled to welcome Children’s Mercy as the first pediatric hospital to join the ImageGuideEcho Registry. Their participation will strengthen their already strong commitment to providing quality care for children with congenital heart disease. As the Registry continues to grow and expand, we look forward to working with Children’s Mercy to help pioneer the future of echocardiography.”

As a benefit of ASE membership, members can participate in the ImageGuideEcho Registry for FREE. For more information about your how institution can enroll, email Info@ImageGuideEcho.org or call 919-297-7174.

Now is the time to purchase access to the Echo Hawaii Online Library that includes all the recorded content (except workshops) from the 2024 live course that took place January 15-19, 2024. This online activity includes thelatest methods for evaluating ventricular systolic and diastolic function, valve function, pericardial disease, ischemic heart disease, critical care echo, and use of TEE. Additional sessions on the assessment and guidance of cardiac devices, integration of echo in patients with cardiomyopathies, contrast ultrasound for cavity opacification and perfusion, strain echocardiography, and 3D imaging round out the content. This activity does not include CME and is available until January 31, 2027. Remember to log in to your ASE Member Portal to receive your discounted member price of $125 USD.

Don’t miss the chance to influence critical aspects of healthcare within the dynamic field of cardiovascular ultrasound. Complete ASE’s 2024 Trends Survey today!

The survey is open until Thursday, February 28, 2024. It only takes 15 minutes to complete and dives into key areas such as practice management, equipment, workflow, specialized areas of practice, and emerging technologies. Your responses play a pivotal role in shaping ASE programs, resources, and providing a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities in the field.

Participants will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for one of two $100 Visa gift cards. Simply provide your name and email at the end of the survey.

We also encourage you to amplify the impact! Share the survey link with fellow professionals in the echo community and post it on relevant non-ASE medical forums. This survey is open to both members and nonmembers. The more people who participate, the better!

Applications Close April 15

The ASE Foundation funds Council Travel Grants for trainees to support their attendance at the ASE 2024 Scientific Sessions, which this year will be held in Portland, OR, June 14-16. These grants are part of an ongoing effort by ASEF and the Council Steering Committees to encourage trainees in cardiovascular specialties, provide echo-specific educational opportunities, and encourage participation of these enthusiastic new members in the ASE Councils.

Recipients will receive a $1,000 USD travel stipend to support their attendance at ASE 2024. Don’t miss your opportunity to apply for a 2024 ASE Foundation Travel Grant.

Application instructions can be found online. Contact Suzanne Morris at SMorris@ASEcho.org with any questions.

February 27, 8:00 – 9:00 PM ET

The ASE Journal Club on X offers a unique way for participants to discuss and review cardiology journal articles, case reports, ASE Guidelines, and more! The next Journal Club is planned for Tuesday, February 27, 2024, from 8:00 – 9:00 PM ET. Join the discussion on a popular new guideline recently published by ASE, Guidelines for the Evaluation of Prosthetic Valve Function with Cardiovascular Imaging: A Report From the ASE Developed in Collaboration with the SCMR and the SCCT.

Earn 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for your participation by signing up for ASE Journal Club on X: February 27, 2024 in the ASE Learning Hub (ALH). Anyone can participate in the ASE Journal Club on X, but to earn CME/MOC, you must register in the ALH. ASE members can sign up for FREE. Follow @ASE360 and use hashtag #ASEchoJC for all tweets!

This month, ASE published two new guidelines offering updated recommendations on pediatric and neonatal echocardiography, replacing earlier guidelines published by Society. Below the Chair of each guideline shares the importance of the new documents. Visit ASE’s website to read the full news release distributed earlier this week.

The Guidelines for Performing a Comprehensive Pediatric Transthoracic Echocardiogram: Recommendations From ASE writing group Chair Leo Lopez, MD, FASE, says, “In the past decade, the care of children with heart disease has evolved due to improvements in scientific knowledge and technology. Echocardiography has played a major role in this evolution, due to its increasing ability to provide more accurate information related to cardiac anatomy, hemodynamics, and function. The guideline helps organize the capabilities of echocardiography so that it can be used in a rational and logical way when caring for pediatric patients.”

The Guidelines and Recommendations for Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography and Cardiac Point-of-Care Ultrasound in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Update from ASE writing group Chair Patrick McNamara, MD, FASE, says, “Close collaboration with pediatric echocardiography laboratories and the support of thought leaders in the field have resulted in the success of TNE and the establishment of neonatal hemodynamics programs.”

The February issue of JASE includes, “Guidelines and Recommendations for Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography and Cardiac Point-of-Care Ultrasound in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Update from the American Society of Echocardiography.” Author Patrick J. McNamara, MD, FASE, remarks, “There are several modifications to the 2011 guidelines, which will enhance their generalizability across the world and support high quality Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography (TNE)-based neonatal hemodynamic care including increased flexibility around the required time in a pediatric echo lab, expanding the scope of TNE to include both symptom (e.g., hypotension, hypoxemia) and disease-based indications (e.g., hypoxemic ischemic encephalopathy, patent ductus arteriosus), recommending that a neonatologist with advanced TNE training may perform standard TNE as the first study in a patient with low index of suspicion of CHD to enable more timely access, and clarifying the scope of cardiac point-of-care ultrasound (cPOCUS) vs TNE. One of the crucial elements of the success of TNE and the establishment of Neonatal Hemodynamics programs has been the close collaboration with pediatric echo labs. We anticipate that the updated guidelines will enable more institutions to establish either TNE or cPOCUS programs, foster hypothesis generating and testing TNE-based research, and aid the establishment of new collaborations between neonatologists with a hemodynamic focus and pediatric cardiologists interested in non-CHD neonatology disease.”

Readers can look forward to a second guideline on performing a comprehensive pediatric TTE, as well as a state-of-the-art review on the role of speckle-tracking echo in predicting mortality and morbidity in patients with congenital heart disease. This issue includes an imaging strategies paper on the use of 3D intracardiac echo during transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement, featuring the authors’ experience in patients with congenital heart disease who underwent this procedure. Additionally, three clinical investigations tackle echocardiographic assessment of LV function in extremely preterm infants, echocardiographic assessment of LV function after neonatal intervention for tricuspid valve dysplasia, and exploratory modeling of mitral annulus dynamics by 3D echo in children. Two editorials accompany these reports, and one letter to the editor on the educational framework for trainees in neonatal hemodynamics concludes this issue.

Dr. Pellikka’s editorial recaps all the content of this issue with its focus on pediatric, neonatal, and congenital heart disease echo. Dr. Eidem’s President’s Message highlights the diverse range of educational activities ASE offers – from the robust Learning Hub catalog to the live course options – there is something for everyone in pursuit of furthering their echo knowledge. Please see the February ASE Education Calendar for a listing of educational opportunities far and wide.

ASE’s 36th Annual State-of-the-Art Echocardiography (SOTA) starts in just over two weeks, but there is still time to register! Registration will also be offered on-site, but attendees who register before February 15, can save $125. The live, in-person course features first-rate cardiologists and sonographers presenting a broad range of echo-related topics to enhance your clinical practice. Join us in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona, February 16-19, 2024, at The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa.