The February issue of JASE includes a new guideline titled, “Guidelines for Performing Ultrasound-Guided Vascular Cannulation: Recommendations of the American Society of Echocardiography.” Lead co-author Annette Vegas, MD, FASE, remarks, “Ultrasound
guidance is currently not a standard of care for all vascular access, but it is becoming increasingly common in daily clinical practice due to its ability to enhance success rates and reduce complications. Adopting the recommendations in this guideline will help clinicians better minimize risks, maximize technical competencies and ultimately, improve patient outcomes.”
This issue’s original investigations incorporate a variety of topics including ascending aortic aneurysm, left atrial function and heart failure development, and the right ventricle in pulmonary vascular disease. Editorial comments accompany two of these original investigations, addressing screening intervals and rates of expansion in ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm as well as a left atrial volumetric/mechanical coupling index. Rounding out this issue are a number of brief research communications—machine learning technology in automating thoracic aorta dimensions and stratifying risk in low-gradient aortic stenosis, the hemodynamic performance of some recent TAVR valves, clinical and echocardiographic features of individuals with cardiac amyloidosis at risk for future thrombus formation, and the use of left atrial appendage 3D echo to refine the prothrombotic state in atrial fibrillation.
Guest written by members of ASE’s Council on Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Steering Committee, Craig E. Fleishman, MD, FASE, and Pei-Ni Jone, MD, FASE, this month’s President’s Message highlights the ongoing work of this council and its future priorities to drive progress in this sector of the field.
A new call for papers is now open! A focus issue on chamber quantification is set for publication in early 2026. Papers that address any aspect of echocardiography in quantitative assessment of the cardiac chambers should be submitted by June 1, 2025. Please direct questions to JASE managing editor Debbie Meyer at dmeyer@asecho.org.
Tune into our Author Spotlight page for interviews between JASE Editor-in-Chief Patricia Pellikka, MD, FASE, and authors of recently published papers. January’s interview features Thomas H. Marwick, MBBS, PhD, MPH, discussing his paper, “Cardiac Function and Functional Capacity in Patients With Long COVID: A Comparison to Propensity-Matched Community Controls.”
Please see the February ASE Education Calendar for a listing of educational opportunities far and wide.