[Chinese expert consensus on a standardized echocardiography procedure and right heart evaluation for pulmonary...

Echocardiography is a non-invasive technique for evaluating pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE), facilitating a dynamic assessment of cardiac structure, function, and hemodynamic alterations. It is critical in the auxiliary diagnosis, risk stratification, and prognosis assessment of acute PTE; monitoring the progression of chronic PTE; and conducting early screening for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension and evaluating right heart function in such cases. In current clinical practice in China, right heart echocardiographic assessment protocols for PTE are not standardized, resulting in image acquisition and interpretation variability. To address this challenge, our research group invited multidisciplinary specialists from relevant fields across China to engage in collaborative discussions. Based on a comprehensive review of both Chinese and international literature, and in alignment with the specific circumstances of clinical practice in China, the measurement methods, technical considerations, normal reference values, and clinical implications of each parameter used in echocardiographic assessment of the right heart for PTE were systematically summarized, and operational standards and recommendations suitable for the Chinese clinical setting were proposed. This document was developed on the basis of a systematic literature review and expert consensus.