BASIC ECHO SKILLS COURSE - WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Course Aim

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To provide a foundation for rural and remote medical practitioners to add basic echocardiography to their bedside clinical assessment.

 

Course Curriculum and Learning Outcomes

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An approach to basic echocardiography:

• The role of bedside echo in rural and remote practice

• Use of hand-held echo devices

• Physics of echo – what you need to know

• Understanding your echo machine – Button-ology

• Image acquisition, optimisation and interpretation

• Common echo windows

• Different modes of echo

• Echo Artifacts

• Trouble shooting, common errors and limitations of echo

Cardiac anatomy and physiology as it relates to echocardiography:

• Understanding normal cardiac anatomy and physiology

• What echo can and can’t demonstrate

• Assessment of ventricular structure and function, atrial structure and associated anatomy including pericardium, aorta & vena-cava

• Assessment of valvular structure and function

Common and relevant cardiac pathology assessed by echocardiography:

• Left ventricular systolic dysfunction – regional vs global and severity

• Pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade

• Common valvular pathologies – identifying severe & clinically relevant disease

• Spotlight on rheumatic heart disease – acute valvulitis, chronic valvular dysfunction and screening of sub-clinical disease

• Assessment of the right heart and its relation to cardiac and non-cardiac pathology

• Assessment of inferior vena-cava and fluid status