Safety: the heart of the matter

An integral part of evaluation of cardiac disease in modern day medicine is echocardiography. It has made great strides since the initial collaboration of Dr. Helmut Hertz and Dr. Inge Edler. In its modern day form, echocardiography maintains a legacy of a bedside utility while adopting many of the technologic advances ushered in by the digital era. As a result, it boasts a broad and growing spectrum of application including routine use in primary cardiac diagnosis and screening, therapeutic assessment, and guidance of interventional and surgical procedures. With the advent of ultrasound contrast agents it is now arguably the most complete 'one-stop' investigational tool to assess cardiac structure, function and perfusion. However, has it maintained its safety profile? The familiar and oft quoted dictum in medicine of "first do no harm" is of great importance for any diagnostic tool and patient safety should remain a primary consideration for any new investigational technique. In this issue Cosyns' et al. have examined whether some of the theoretical and in vitro experimental concerns surrounding myocardial injury during and following contrast echocardiography result in any detectable change in cardiac function.