New and old echographic parameters in heart failure

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Echography (ECHO) is a primary diagnostic tool for heart failure (HF).
• Current HF classification relies heavily on left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), despite limitations.
• Accurate disease recognition and stratification are crucial for effective HF management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the role of ECHO in HF diagnosis and prognosis.
• To explore how cardiac filling parameters and novel ECHO-derived metrics can refine HF phenotyping.
• To discuss the potential of advanced ECHO techniques in improving pre-clinical identification and treatment selection for HF patients.

Main Methods:

• Utilizes conventional echocardiographic parameters for HF classification.
• Incorporates analysis of cardiac filling parameters to characterize hemodynamic profiles.
• Leverages new ECHO technologies for assessing cardiac function, such as deformation indices.
• Employs innovative and automated approaches for analyzing conventional ECHO parameters.

Main Results:

• Echography is essential for diagnosing and stratifying heart failure patients.
• Cardiac filling parameters aid in characterizing HF subtypes and guiding therapy.
• Novel ECHO parameters, like deformation indices, offer potential to refine HF classification beyond EF.
• Technological advancements enable rapid analysis of ECHO data, opening new treatment perspectives.

Conclusions:

• Echography remains a cornerstone in heart failure management.
• Advanced ECHO techniques and parameters promise more precise patient phenotyping and personalized treatment.
• Innovative automated ECHO analysis facilitates quicker insights and improved therapeutic strategies for HF.