[Echocardiography in emergency diagnostics].

Echocardiography plays an important role in emergency medicine because this non-invasive method is universally available and provides crucial diagnostic findings for acute decision making. The cardiac etiology in the presence of acute chest pain, acute dyspnea, hemodynamic instability or shock, new heart murmurs, chest trauma, peripheral embolism and cardiac arrest can be determined by echocardiography in the emergency scenario. The analysis of left ventricular function documents myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction. Analysis of right ventricular function documents right heart infarction, pulmonary embolism, tension pneumothorax and sequelae of chest trauma. Echocardiography differentiates between different entities of shock. The analysis of heart valves is a domain of echocardiography. Affections of the pericardium and the hemodynamic sequelae can also be determined. It is obvious that echocardiography with its multiple diagnostic applications can only be well performed, especially in emergency medicine after in-depth education and training in this method.