Echoes from the Third World--two-dimensional echocardiography in a developing country.

Cardiovascular disease is common in the developing world where lack of sophisticated diagnostic equipment may make adequate assessment of the disease impossible. Two-dimensional echocardiography has made a major contribution to the practice of cardiology in Transkei by improving diagnostic ability, aiding in the assessment of patients for surgery locally and for referral elsewhere for open-heart surgery, and in monitoring the progress of pericardial disease. It is cost-effective and appropriate technology for the developing world.