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Updated: Sep 5, 2025

Murine Fetal Echocardiography
Published on: February 15, 2013
Diagnostic Role of Incidental Premature Contractions During Doppler Echocardiography
Philippe Unger1, Quentin de Hemptinne1, Steven Droogmans2
1Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Saint-Pierre, Department of Cardiology, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
Insights
Premature beats, often discarded in echocardiography, can aid diagnosis. These cardiac events, when incidentally observed on Doppler echocardiography, provided crucial diagnostic insights in two presented cases.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Diagnostic Techniques
Background:
- Premature beats are typically viewed as artifacts in echocardiography.
- They can alter cardiac filling and contractility, leading to discarded data loops.
Abstract:
Cardiac sonographers often perceive premature beats as a limiting factor during echocardiography because they alter filling and contractility, and loops recorded during or after a premature contraction are often discarded. Here we present 2 cases in which the incidental occurrence of premature beats on Doppler echocardiography contributed to the diagnosis. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.).
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