Clinical applications of transpulmonary contrast echocardiography

Background The recent development of new fluorocarbon-based echocardiograph ic contrast agents that are capable of opacification of the left-sided card iac chambers after intravenous injection is a major new advance in diagnost ic cardiac imaging. Methods and Results This is a review article focusing on these novel contra st agents, new echocardiographic imaging techniques to optimize their effic acy, and their clinical applications. Specific clinical applications of the se agents are (1) enhancement of endocardial border definition to improve a ssessment of regional and global left ventricular function, (2) myocardial perfusion imaging by intravenous contrast echocardiography, (3) augmentatio n of spectral and color flow Doppler images, and (4) tissue-specific target ing of microbubbles for delivery of therapeutic agents. Conclusions New intravenous contrast agents offer the possibility to assess myocardial perfusion echocardiographically. It is also possible to use the se agents for delivery of therapeutic agents, including gene therapy.