Assessment of Cardiac Function by Echocardiography.

OPINION STATEMENT: Accurate assessment of cardiac function by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) plays an essential role in clinical cardiology. While left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessment has traditionally been the most commonly used objective echocardiographic marker, many other echocardiographic parameters exist that permit an enhanced understanding of cardiac function. These range from 2-dimensional (2D) and 3-dimensional (3D) morphologic parameters to functional parameters such as wall strain and myocardial performance index. In this review, we survey a variety of TTE-based techniques that are utilized in practice to assess the systolic cardiac function of both the left and right ventricles.