Join the AMA by April 1, 2023

ASE needs your help to ensure your voice is heard on issues related to legislative, regulatory, and coding matters. We are currently undergoing a five-year review to maintain our representation of two seats in the American Medical Association’s (AMA) House of Delegates. To keep our seats, a significant number of our U.S. Physician members must also be members of the AMA.

We’re asking our U.S. Physician members to consider joining the AMA by April 1, 2023, if you have not already done so. Your AMA membership empowers ASE to continue directly engaging, impacting, and leading discussions regarding fair and accurate valuation for echocardiography and related clinical services. Make our voice matter for echocardiography and learn more at ASEcho.org/AMA.

Register now to attend ASE’s upcoming live webinar on the Recommendations for the Use of Echocardiography in the Evaluation of Rheumatic Heart Disease guideline published earlier this year. This document provides recommendations for the comprehensive use of echocardiography in the diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of RHD.

The guideline webinar will take place on Thursday, March 23, from 5:00 to 6:00 PM ET. Hosted by lead author and Guideline Chair Natesa G. Pandian, MD, and Guideline Co-Chair Jin K. Kim, MD, PhD, FASE, the webinar is free for ASE Members. Earn 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for participation.

Available Now in the ASE Learning Hub

ASE offers an array of products to help individuals prepare for the Advanced Cardiac Sonographer (ACS) Registry Examination, and its newest offering, ACS Registry Review Guide Mock Exams, is available now in the ASE Learning Hub. The next exam window for the 2023 ACS Registry Exam is coming up in August, but you can start preparing now!

This product contains two mock exams. Mock Exam 1 is a timed simulation of the exam that can be taken up to five times. Mock Exam 2 offers the opportunity for unlimited practice. It is not timed and allows you to view your incorrect answers. Both exams contain 150 questions that are based on the seven sections that will appear on the ACS Registry Exam.

ASE members can purchase this product today for only $199 USD ($240 USD for nonmembers). Log in to the ASE Member Portal and then purchase this product from the ASE Learning Hub to receive special member pricing.

The March JASE includes “Recommendations for Cardiac Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Children: A Report from the American Society of Echocardiography“, endorsed by the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Jimmy C. Lu, MD, FASE, lead author said that, “Although the clinical scenarios for someone in the pediatric emergency room, intensive care unit, or operating room may vary dramatically, there are common technical factors to consider when imaging children and the same need for appropriate training and quality assurance. Previously, there were not uniform recommendations for utilization in the pediatric population, leading to variation among specialties, sometimes even within the same institution. This guideline aims to define those common considerations and to emphasize the importance of collaboration across specialties to optimize pediatric patient care.”

Dr. Patricia A. Pellikka, MD, FASE, JASE Editor-in-Chief, writes in her editorial, “Relevant to the aforementioned guidelines document and also published in this issue are the results of a survey from the ASE Task Force on Cardiac POCUS in Children. This survey of North American pediatric echo lab directors was conducted to understand perceptions and challenges related to clinical use of cardiac POCUS in children. Challenges identified were related to collaboration between pediatric echo labs and others providing cardiac POCUS in children, and difficulties in defining and measuring competency of providers.”

In addition, other clinical investigations explore POCUS, diastolic function and prognosis, pediatric normal values and Z scores for ventricular strain, and echocardiography in infant congenital heart disease. Two editorials address left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and reference standards in quantitative Pediatric Echocardiography. The Brief Research Communications describe echocardiographic reporting of the aorta in young competitive athletes, utilization of an ultrasound-enhancing agent use in evaluating the right ventricle in patients with left ventricular assist device, left atrial volumetric/mechanical coupling index in the general population (from the Copenhagen City Heart Study), and a novel index of right ventriculoarterial coupling in adult patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot using 3D speckle-tracking echocardiography. A letter to the editor addresses exercise-induced cardiac remodeling and atrial fibrillation in female endurance athletes.

The President’s Message, “Sonographer Challenges Today,” from Stephen H. Little, MD, FASE, is co-authored with Keith Collins, MS, RDCS, FASE, the current Council Representative on the ASE Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. The authors start off the column, “As we move beyond the global health crisis caused by COVID-19, we must adjust to a changing healthcare delivery environment, a significantly altered workforce, and the seismic shifts that have changed how we educate, train, and mentor cardiovascular sonographers.”

The March ASE Education Calendar lists education opportunities far and wide.

Make Our Voice Matter for Echocardiography

ASE needs your help in ensuring your voice is heard on issues related to legislative matters, regulatory issues, coding and reimbursement. We are asking our U.S. Physician members to consider joining the American Medical Association (AMA) by April 1, 2023. Your AMA membership enables ASE to maintain our two seats in the AMA’s House of Delegates (HOD), and empowers us to continue directly engaging, impacting, and leading discussions regarding fair and accurate valuation for echocardiography and related clinical services.

To maintain our two seats in the AMA HOD, 25% of ASE’s U.S. physician members must also be members of the AMA. One way to help us reach our goal is to encourage the Residents and Fellows in your lab, who are also ASE members, to join. Physicians can also “gift” an AMA membership to their Residents and Fellows. The AMA membership rate for the category is only $45 USD.

The AMA provides a powerful voice in Congress, the courts, and federal agencies. Full delegate status provides ASE with a vote on important AMA policy within the HOD. ASE delegates take part in the HOD meetings where the AMA’s HOD sets its legislative and regulatory priorities based on the issues that were considered by the HOD, and these issues are vast. It is imperative that ASE maintain our two seats in AMA’s HOD. Learn more and see how you can join AMA at ASEcho.org/AMA.

The ASE Foundation is hosting its first ever March Games fundraiser from March 1 – April 2. Four ASE Council Steering Committees and Specialty Interest Groups will be competing to raise the most money for ASEF! Does your team have what it takes?

Support your team of choice between March 1 – April 2 by donating online. You may be wondering who is competing… Let’s hear it for the teams!

• Emerging Echo Enthusiast (E3) Specialty Interest Group
• Cardiovascular Sonography Council Steering Committee
• Circulation & Vascular Ultrasound Council Steering (CAVUS) Committee
• Interventional Echocardiography (IE) Council Steering Committee.

March is not only a big month for basketball, it is also Women’s History Month. When you make your donation, we encourage you to think of the women in your life who have supported you, whether personally or professionally. Make your donation in honor or in memory of an important woman in your life.

The ASE Foundation funds Council Travel Grants for trainees to support their attendance at the ASE 2023 Scientific Sessions, which this year will be held in National Harbor, MD, June 23-26. 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 travel stipend to support their attendance at ASE 2023. Don’t miss your opportunity to apply for a 2023 ASE Foundation Travel Grant.

Application instructions can be found online at ASEFoundation.org/Council-Travel-Grants. Contact DLyons@ASEcho.org with any questions.

Registration for the ASE Foundation’s 14th Annual Research Awards Gala is now OPEN! We invite you to attend the “All the Colors of the World” Gala, our premiere fundraising event, to honor ASE’s 2023 award recipients and celebrate cardiovascular ultrasound research. The proceeds from this event directly support research efforts in 2024. Join us Sunday, June 25, at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, MD, for a wonderful evening of entertainment, dinner, and dancing. Attendees are encouraged to wear formal attire showcasing your personal heritage and culture.

Please note, Gala Registration options will start with full tables and Supporter Level tickets first. Questions about the Gala? Please email Gala@ASEcho.org. Tickets will not be available on site. 

The February 2023 Echo magazine is now online! This issue contains the Upcoming 2023 Education Calendar and interesting articles written by ASE members, including:

• The ASEF: “Together, We Can Make A World of Difference!”, page 4
• The Advanced Cardiac Sonographer – Advice from the Experts, page 7
• Sonographer Volunteer of the Month – February, Congratulations Patrice McKay, RDCS, FASE, page 12
• Intra-Operative Transesophageal Echocardiography in the Operating Room: Pearls and Pitfalls, page 14
• Why Should A Member of ASE Also Be A Member of The American Medical Association?, page 17
• 2023 ASEF Council Travel Grant Applications Now Open!, page 19

ASE members are eligible to write and submit articles for publication. The article submission deadline for the May 2023 issue is March 15, 2023. Visit ASE’s website to review the author guideline requirements on formatting, word length, etc. Contact Echo@ASEcho.org with questions and view past issues at ASEcho.org/EchoMagazine.

The latest issue of CASE, ASE’s open access case reports journal, is now available with some excellent reports, including “Undiagnosed Atrial Septal Defect in the Setting of Comorbidities and Ventricular Failure: Seemingly Simple Disease with a Challenging Diagnosis” by Anita Sadeghpour, MD, Han Kim, MD, and Anna Lisa Chamis, MD. CASE Editor-in-Chief, Vincent L. Sorrell, MD, FASE, commented, “Sadeghpour et al. provide a wonderful demonstration of two patients with atrial septal defects. In doing so, they nicely emphasize the importance of having a high index of suspicion so as not to overlook this not-uncommon congenital pathology that may be misinterpreted as acquired heart disease in the adult. They included an outstanding flow chart to help readers investigate patients with dilated right hearts and include a multimodality approach to confirming the underlying diagnosis.”

Additionally, this issue includes two more cases on annulus reversus and pulmonary fibroelastoma in the Just Another Day in the Echo Lab category, two Rare But Deadly Findings cases dealing with ALCAPA and thrombus in transit, two cases that highlight the important role of Multimodality Imaging, and a Letter to the Editor. The editorial from Dr. Sorrell, “Lost Phone of the Incas,” includes a travel vignette that reminds us not to take for granted the day-to-day value of echocardiography.

Finally, check out the latest Sonographer Sound-Off and Unlock the CASE features on the CASE Homepage to test your wits and learn tips and tricks for everyday practice.