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.

ASE is proud to support the cardiovascular ultrasound community through recognition of outstanding service, research, and training. We are happy to announce and congratulate the ASE 2024 Award Winners! These recipients will be recognized during the 35th Annual ASE Scientific Sessions in Portland, Oregon, June 14-16, 2024. These awards are peer-reviewed and were selected by the Awards Committee, chaired by Sherif Nagueh, MD, FASE.

PHYSICIAN LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Nancy Ayres, MD, FACC, FASE

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD

Leo Lopez, MD, FASE

Stanford Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto, California

MENTORSHIP AWARD

Roberto Lang, MD, FASE

University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois

SONOGRAPHER LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Bonita Anderson, M.APPL.S, DMU(Cardiac), AMS, ACS, FASE, FASA

The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

FOUNDERS’ AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY FOR PCHD

Tal Geva, MD, FASE

Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PERIOPERATIVE ECHOARDIOGRAPHY AWARD

Feroze Mahmood, MD, FASE

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts



CIRCULATION & VASCULAR ULTRASOUND COUNCIL LUMINARY AWARD

Robert Eberhardt, MD, FASE

Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts

February is American Heart Month and ASE has released two new guidelines:

• Guidelines for Performing a Comprehensive Pediatric Transthoracic Echocardiogram: Recommendations From the American Society of Echocardiography
• 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

Read the two new guidelines on our Guidelines web page.

The Complete Series is Now Available!

ASE’s Microlessons in Echocardiography and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a free online series for anyone interested in learning more about this commonly inherited cardiomyopathy that is often difficult to diagnose. The Microlessons include 15 short learning modules explaining how echocardiography can help assess patients with HCM and determine treatment options. The final module, How to Perform Strain in Patients with HCM, was uploaded to the Microlessons Playlist on ASE’s YouTube channel in December 2023.