The Role of Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Managing Cardiac Emergencies

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a useful imaging tool for the diagnosis and monitoring of cardiac emergencies. Unlike complete echocardiography, POCUS is a time-sensitive examination involving a subset of targeted thoracic ultrasound views to identify abnormalities of the heart, lungs, pleural space, and caudal vena cava. When integrated with other clinical information, POCUS can be helpful in the diagnosis of left-sided and right-sided congestive heart failure, pericardial effusion and tamponade, and severe pulmonary hypertension and can help clinicians monitor resolution or recurrence of these conditions.