A practical guide to the use of echocardiography in assisting structural heart disease interventions

Echocardiography plays an integral role in the evaluation and treatment of patients undergoing percutaneous interventions for structural heart disease. Preprocedure, accurate echocardiographic assessment of cardiac anatomy is crucial in determining patient eligibility. During catheterization, echocardiography is used for procedural guidance. Postprocedure, echocardiography is used for patient follow-up and determining the effect of device placement on cardiac remodeling. This article provides a practical guide for using echocardiography in common interventional procedures, including percutaneous atrial septal defect closure, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, percutaneous repair of prosthetic valve paravalvular leaks, percutaneous mitral valve edge-to-edge repair, and percutaneous placement of appendage occlusion devices.