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Rao. Vessel Plus 2022;6:25 Vessel Plus
DOI: 10.20517/2574-1209.2021.92

Review Open Access

Echocardiography: an overview - Part II

P. Syamasundar Rao

Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas at Houston McGovern Medical School and Children’s Memorial Hermann
Hospital, Houston, Texas, TX 77030, USA.
Correspondence to: P. Syamasundar Rao, MD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas at Houston McGovern Medical
School, 6410 Fannin Street, Suite #425, Houston, TX 77030, USA. E-mail: P.Syamasundar.Rao@uth.tmc.edu
How to cite this article: Rao PS. Echocardiography: an overview - Part II. Vessel Plus 2022;6:25.
https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2574-1209.2021.92
Received: 1 Jul 2021 First Decision: 15 Nov 2021 Revised: 24 Nov 2021 Accepted: 31 Dec 2021 Published: 29 Apr 2022

Academic Editors: Alexander D. Verin, Zhong-Ping Chen Copy Editor: Xi-Jun Chen Production Editor: Xi-Jun Chen

Abstract
This review describes echocardiographic features of commonly encountered acyanotic congenital heart defects.
Echo-Doppler features of lesions causing obstruction, namely aortic stenosis, aortic coarctation, stenosis of the
pulmonary valve and pulmonary arteries were initially presented followed by discussion of lesions with left-to-right
shunt namely, atrial and ventricular septal defects, patent foramen ovale, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), and
atrioventricular septal defect. A special section dedicated to evaluating hemodynamically significant PDAs in
premature infants was also included. Coronary artery anomalies (both congenital and acquired) were reviewed at
the conclusion of the paper.

Keywords: Echocardiography, aortic stenosis, aortic coarctation, pulmonary stenosis, atrial septal defect,
ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, muco-cutaneous lymph node syndrome

INTRODUCTION
In Part I of this review, principles of echo-Doppler, the method of performance of echocardiographic and
Doppler studies, approaches for quantification of pulmonary artery (PA) pressure, appraisal of systolic
function of the ventricles, and illustration of the utility of echocardiography in evaluating multiple neonatal
issues were described. In this Part II, the author will present a succinct review of echocardiographic findings
of commonly encountered acyanotic congenital heart defects (CHDs). Obstructive lesions will be reviewed
first followed by left-to-right shunt lesions and then coronary artery abnormalities. A brief description of
the anatomy of each defect will be presented first followed by the echocardiographic findings. Cyanotic

© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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