ABSTRACT
Transesophageal echocardiography is widely used in clinical practice in patients with atrial fibrillation and it is mainly applied to determine the morphology of the heart, the presence of intracardiac thrombi, quantify the structures of the heart, as well as to determine the tactics for surgical interventions. Transesophageal echocardiography has an advantage over transthoracic echocardiography in visualizing the left atrium and left atrial appendage, common sites of thrombus formation in patients with atrial fibrillation. Due to the anatomical proximity of the esophagus to the heart, the transesophageal access avoids signal fading and incorrect interpretation of the study results. The possibilities of transesophageal echocardiography in patients with atrial fibrillation have expanded with the development of medical technology, and three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography has become widespread. In recent years, the studies on the use of the transesophageal echocardiography in patients with atrial fibrillation during the coronavirus pandemic have been published. The review presents the results of studies, meta-analyzes of pooled samples, as well as clinical cases, demonstrating capabilities of transesophageal echocardiography in patients with atrial fibrillation. A brief history of the development of the method, work on the study of the technology features and capabilities of transesophageal echocardiography for pulmonary vein ablation, cardioversion, occlusion of the left atrial appendage in patients with atrial fibrillation, as well as studies on disadvantages of the transesophageal echocardiography and possible options for their elimination are presented. Comparison of the transesophageal echocardiography with transthoracic and intracardial echocardiography is also highlighted. In preparing the review, the literature search method in PubMed databases for the period 2012–2021 was used, as well as data from an earlier period to indicate the history of the method development. © Eco-Vector, 2022. All rights reserved.