The Evaluation of the Heart Failure Patient by Echocardiography: Time to go beyond the Ejection Fraction

Abstract

Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder that impairs the ability of the ventricle to fill with or eject blood. The echocardiogram is the single most performed and useful study in these patients. This article reviews the role of the echocardiogram in the evaluation of the heart failure patient, without focusing on the left ventricle. The discussion includes the use of the echocardiogram in the assessment of the right ventricle and diastolic function and in detecting hemodynamic and morphologic changes in heart failure over a period of time. In addition, we highlight some of the limitations of echocardiography in the assessment of these patients.