Transesophageal echocardiographic assessment of coronary stenosis: A decade of experience

Coronary artery imaging is routinely obtained invasively at cardiac cathete rization. through coronary angiography. This remains the gold standard, but with advances in ultrasound technology, electron beam computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging, newer noninvasive methodologies are achiev ing greater success at imaging the coronary anatomy. This review is meant t o highlight the important accomplishments from transesophageal echocardiogr aphic (TEE) investigations that have studied the coronary arteries. The spe cific technique for optimally imaging the coronaries with high frequency tr ansducers, color and conventional Doppler, in addition to contrast-enhanced methods, will be analyzed. Importantly, this article serves as a reminder to echocardiographers and cardiologists that excellent, clinically relevant information of the coronary arteries can be obtained routinely during TEE. This technique is part of the trend noted by the other authors in this spe cial edition; that is, echocardiography is becoming the gold standard of th e new millennium for many diagnostic areas, even coronary angiography.