Adult Echocardiography Flashcards
- In the apical 4 chamber view which two walls of the left ventricle are seen
In the apical 2 chamber view which two walls of the left ventricle are seen
Septal and lateral
Inferior and anterior.
- In the parasternal long axis view, at the level of the mitral valve and papillary muscle, how many segments is the left ventricle divided into and name them
6
Posterior, lateral,anterior, anterior septal, septal, inferior
- Which walls of the left ventricle are seen in the parasternal and apical long axis views
Septal and posterior
- Where is the coronary sinus located
Where is the coronary sinus located in relation to the descending aortic
The coronary sinus lies in the posterior atrioventricular groove. This groove is located between the left atrium and the left ventricular walls and lies posterior to the mitral valve. In the parasternal long axis view, the coronary sinus can sometimes be seen as a small echo free circle.
The coronary sinus is located anterior to the descending aorta. If the coronary sinus is dilated, it may be mistaken for te descending aorta.
- Why is it important to know the location of the coronary sinus and the descending aorta.
The coronary sinus and the descending aorta are important landmarks that can help differentiate pericardial effusions from pleural effusions. Pericardial effusions Lie posterior to the coronary sinus and anterior to the descending aorta. In contrast, pleural effusions lie posterior to the descending aorta.
- Name the 3 major coronary arteries
Where are their locations on the surface of the heart.
Right coronary artery, left anterior descending, and circumflex arteries.
Rca- arises from the right aortic-root sinus and follows the atrioventricular junction, and descends along the posterior interventricular groove.
LAD- follows the anterior interventricular groove.
Circ- courses along the left atrioventricular junction.
- Name the cardiac walls supplied by each of the coronary artery’s
Rca- inferior wall, inferior septum, right ventricular Apex, right ventricular free wall
LAD- anterior wall, anterior septum, left ventricular Apex
Circ- lateral wall, posterior wall
- While scanning a 43-year-old man with a history of an old myocardial infarction, you notice that the anterior cardiac wall is akinetic. Which coronary artery is most likely to have been involved in the infarction
In the apical four chamber ofanother heart, the distal ventricular septum and left ventricular Apex are hypo-contractile. Which coronary artery is most likely to be disease
The left anterior descending, which supplies blood to the anterior cardiac wall, is most likely to have been involved. This artery also supplies the anterior portion of the ventricular septum and the left ventricular Apex
Again, the left anterior descending is the most likely choice. In some patients with distal septal hypo contractility, the proximal portion of the septum moves normally because it is supplied by the right coronary artery
- What are the normal systolic and diastolic pressures In the four cardiac chambers and a great vessels
Right atrial ( mean ) = 6 mmHg Right ventricle = 25/5 mmHg Pulmonary artery = 25/10 mmHg Left atrial ( mean ) = 10 mmHg left ventricular = 120/7 mmHg Aortic = 120/80 mmHg
- What is the normal mean pulmonary artery wedge pressure
How is the pulmonary artery wedge pressure determined
The normal mean pulmonary artery wedge pressure is 10 mmHg, which is equal to the left atrial pressure
A swan/Ganz catheter is positioned in the pulmonary artery, and a small balloon is inflated at the catheters tip. The balloon is then wedged into a smaller pulmonary artery, and a pressure reading is obtained a distal to the balloon. The balloon prevents the tip of the catheter from sensing the pulmonary pressure, and the left atrial pressure is recorded at it as it is reflected across the pulmonary bed.
- Describe the color flow Doppler technique
The color flow Doppler technique is a post Doppler method for simultaneous recording and displaying flow information as well as grayscale anatomic images. M mode or two dimensional. Color flow displays usually involve two dimensional images. By convention, flow toward the probe most often appears red, and flow away from their probe most often appears blue. The display indicates the velocity and direction by changing huse of these two colors
- In Color flow imaging, what is a pulsed packet
Why are pulse packets important
To accurately determine the direction of velocity of blood flow, a group of multiple ultrasound pulses is transmitted, received, and compared with respective to phase shift. This group is called a pulse packet
The more pulses in the pulse packet, the more accurate the flow related information. However, with larger pulse packets, it takes more time to transmit, Receive, and as a result of the frame rate decreases
- What is the continuous wave Doppler mode
What are the main advantages and disadvantages of the continuous wave Doppler mode, compared to the pulsed wave Doppler mode
In the continuous wave Doppler mode, two transducer elements are used to record the flow. One element continuously transmits ultrasound signals, and the other element continuously receive such signals. The received signals are analyzed for Doppler frequency shifts, and the resulting information is displayed on the screen.
The main advantage of the continuous wave Doppler mode is its ability to record high velocity flow without aliasing. The disadvantage of this mode is that, although the flow along the ultrasound beam is recorded, the location of this flow is not known
- What is the most important variable and the Doppler equation
The most important variable in the Doppler equation is the Cosine of the angle theta. Theta denotes the angle between the ultrasound beam and the moving target, blood. As long as this angle is less than 20°, the calculated velocity is accurate. When the eagle is greater than 20°, the velocity is under estimated by the Doppler equation
- To visualize the anterior wall of the left ventricle, which two dimensional view would you use
To visualize the lateral all of the left ventricle, which two dimensional view would you use
The anterior and inferior walls of the left ventricle our best visualized in the apical two chamber view
The lateral wall of the left ventricle is best visualized in the apical four chamber view. The lateral wall can also be seen in the short axis views but the four chamber is the best
- On the echo cardiogram, at what point does the mitral valve normally close
On the echocardiogram at what point does the aortic valve normally open
The mitral valve normally closes approximately 60 ms after the onset of the QRS complex, or about halfway through the QRS complex
The aortic valve normally opens at the end of the QRS complex. This takes into account the delay between electrical and mechanical Systole , as well as the isovolumic contraction time (between mitral closure and aortic opening)
- What is the relationship between electrical and mechanical systole
Mechanical systole follows electrical systole by approximately 12 ms. The delay represents the time it takes for the electrical conductive impulse to spread and thereby cause myocardial contraction. The delay can best be appreciated during in m mode studies that examine the relationship between the electrocardiographic pattern and valvular motion
- What is diastasis
Diastasis denotes the middle portion of diastole, which occurs between early, rapid filling of the ventricles and the start of atrial contraction. The duration of diastasis varies with the heart rate. Diastasis is quite long in a patient with bradycardia and quite short in those with tachycardia
- How much of ventricular filling occurs during the passive phase of diastole
At normal pressures, approximately 70% of ventricular filling occurs during the passive face of diastole. Atrial contraction accounts for the remaining 30% of ventricular filling. Of course, these percentages will change in patients with valvular abnormalities such as mitral stenosis or ventricular compliance problems such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- On most ultrasound machines, what is the relationship between overall gain/power and the time gain compensator (TGC)
Increasing the gain/power control will augment the power to the ultrasound transducer crystals. Increasing the TGC controls will augment the returned ultrasound signals. Whichever control is adjusted, the effect on the ultrasound image may be the same. For optimal image quality it is best to keep the transducer gain at 70 to 80% and use the TGC to adjust the image
- What causes side lobe artifacts
What is the best way to minimize side lobe artifacts
Side load artifacts are caused by strong reflectors outside of the main ultrasound beam. The off axis targets create reflections from weaker extra ultrasound beams alongside the main beam
The best way to minimize Side lobe artifacts is to decrease the overall gain, increase the reject level, or decrease the TGC in the area of strong reflectors. Such as the pericardium
- What cardiac lesion is detected by injecting agitated saline contrast material into the right side of the heart
Why does Saline contrast material rarely appear on the left side of the heart
Saline contrast material is injected to detect atrial shunts . It may also be used to document abnormal venous return and to detect the outline right sided intracardiac masses
- How is the Valsalva maneuver performed
How does the Valsalva maneuver affect the heart
The Valsalva maneuver is performed by inhaling halfway, Closing the mouth and nostrils, exhaling forcibly and straining against the closed mouth for about five seconds. Then opening the mouth and exhaling
During these straining phase the venous return decreases, so that the cardiac output diminishes in the reflux tachycardia occurs. Once the strain is released, the venous return increases, along with right sided cardiac pressures and the cardiac output. A reflex bradycardia also occurs
- What is the best cardiac view for evaluating mitral stenosis with continuous wave Doppler scanning
With continuous wave Doppler scanning, mitral stenosis is best evaluated from the cardiac Apex. Because apical views allow the Doppler beam and the mitral stenotic jet to be aligned in parallel fashion these yield accurate peak flow velocities