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Updated: Oct 18, 2026

Murine Echocardiography of Left Atrium, Aorta, and Pulmonary Artery
Published on: February 20, 2017
Evaluation of echocardiography in the management of elderly patients with heart failure
A Hendry1, L Hacking, P Langhorne
1Department of Geriatric Medicine, Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow, UK.
Objective:
To determine the validity of a clinical diagnosis of systolic dysfunction in elderly patients with heart failure and assess the contribution of echocardiography to their management.
Subjects:
61 elderly patients with a diagnosis of heart failure in a geriatric assessment unit setting.
Methods:
Prospective study determining sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of a clinical and radiological diagnosis compared with echocardiographic standard. Proposed management was compared before and after echocardiography.
Results:
Clinical assessment was highly sensitive (93%) but lacked specificity (32%). Combining radiological and clinical diagnoses increased specificity to 58%. Echocardiography revised the lead cardiac diagnosis for 28% of patients and influenced patient management plans for 41%.
Conclusion:
For elderly patients with heart failure, echocardiography improves diagnostic accuracy and identifies those patients with potential to benefit from angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.
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