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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Echocardiographic Assessment Using Subxiphoid-Only Examination for Hypotensive Patients
Published on: April 18, 2025
Effectiveness of echocardiographic imaging by nurses to identify left ventricular systolic dysfunction in high-risk
James N Kirkpatrick1, Vicki Belka, Kathy Furlong
1University of Chicago, Department of Medicine, Section of Cardiology, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Abstract:
Recognizing left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction is critical. The investigators sought to evaluate whether nurses could be trained to use a hand-carried ultrasound (HCU) device to screen for LV systolic dysfunction in high-risk patients. Sixty-three patients from an outpatient diabetes clinic underwent brief echocardiographic examinations by nurses using HCU devices. Of the 63 patients enrolled in the study, 3 (4.7%) had LV systolic dysfunction. The nurses correctly identified these 3 patients as having LV systolic dysfunction (sensitivity 100%, negative predictive value 100%). The identification of occult LV systolic dysfunction in diabetic patients may allow the initiation of therapies known to improve prognosis.
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