Role of echocardiography in congestive heart failure.

A comprehensive assessment of the nature and severity of heart failure is often the initial step in the management of patients with congestive heart failure. Unlike many other available methods, imaging and Doppler echocardiography can repetitively and noninvasively characterize left ventricular systolic and diastolic function and estimate prognosis. Recently, new Doppler applications (tissue Doppler and color M-mode-Doppler) have been shown to provide a more precise estimate of LV relaxation than the traditional Doppler echocardiography. The objective of this review was to critically evaluate the clinical impact of conventional echocardiographic methods on the management of heart failure patients.