Multimodality imaging is among the highlights of this year's American Society of Echocardiography meeting, which starts on June 30 at the National Harbor, Maryland.
The society is pushing forward the concept, looking at different diseases and integrating different kinds of imaging such as echo plus nuclear, cardiac CT, or cardiac MR, in order to get the best diagnoses, said Dr. Melissa Wood, co-director of Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center Women's Heart Health Program, Boston, and the chair of ASE Public Relations Committee.
"This isn't just about echo, it's also about all the other imaging techniques that are out there and how we can work together and deliver the highest quality of care," said Dr. Wood in an interview. "It's also about what's superfluous, and what we don't need to do."
On the policy front, Accountable Care Organizations will be in the forefront during the meeting. Dr. Wood said that the speakers will address how "ACOs affect those of us who read echos and do them, and how they affect practices."
Echocardiography will also leave this planet for a bit during a symposium. ASE president Dr. James Thomas has long been actively involved in doing research with the space program and helping pick the right echo machine for use up there, said Dr. Wood. "There's substantial interest in microgravity and the heart, and how heart changes its function in space. It's something that's very unique, and there are lessons that can be learned from that, and that experience will be somehow useful in our clinical practices, whether it's specific type of research techniques or specific types of information that are gained in that environment."
Echocardiography is the second most commonly ordered test after ECG, according to Dr. Wood, and with the aging population, the use of the test is likely to increase.
"I see echo take off more because of this concern about heart failure being an epidemic. Echo as a way to diagnose heart failure before it becomes profound," she said. And given the appropriate use criteria, "we're tying to moderate the reasons echos are ordered, so they'll continue to be fairly reimbursed by third parties and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services," said Dr. Wood.
You can find the meeting's program here. And be sure to check our coverage on ecardiologynews.com.
By Naseem S. Miller (@NaseemSMiller)