Recommendations for Chamber Quantification: A Report from the American Society of Echocardiography’s Guidelines and Standards Committee and the Chamber Quantification Writing Group, Developed in Conjunction with the European Association of Echocardiography, a Branch of the European Society of Cardiology

Quantification of cardiac chamber size, ventricular mass, and function ranks among the most clinically important and most frequently requested tasks of echocardiography. Standardization of chamber quantification has been an early concern in echocardiography and recommendations on how to measure such fundamental parameters are among the most often cited articles in the field. 1 Sahn D.J. DeMaria A. Kisslo J. Weyman A. Recommendations regarding quantitation in M-mode echocardiography results of a survey of echocardiographic measurements. Circulation. 1978; 58: 1072-1083 Crossref PubMed Google Scholar , 2 Schiller N.B. Shah P.M. Crawford M. DeMaria A. Devereux R. Feigenbaum H. et al. Recommendations for quantitation of the left ventricle by two-dimensional echocardiography American Society of Echocardiography committee on standards, subcommittee on quantitation of two-dimensional echocardiograms. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 1989; 2: 358-367 PubMed Google Scholar During the last decades, echocardiographic methods and techniques have improved and expanded dramatically. Improvements in image quality have been significant, as a result of the introduction of higher-frequency transducers, harmonic imaging, fully digital machines, left-sided contrast agents, and other technologic advancements. Need for a Global Definition of Normative Echo Values—Rationale and Design of the World Alliance of Societies of Echocardiography Normal Values Study (WASE)Journal of the American Society of EchocardiographyVol. 32Issue 1PreviewIn cardiac imaging, as in any other medical discipline, understanding what is “normal” within a population is fundamental to define the concept of abnormal. While this is straightforward in the presence of a tumor (a yes/no assessment) or an abnormal blood count, defining normal dimensions of cardiac chambers or the normal values of cardiac function poses a significant challenge. Echocardiography is the most widely used imaging modality to assess cardiac size and function, but despite the importance of having “reference limits” to define normal cardiac structure and function in echocardiography, the currently available studies fail to reflect the diversity of populations from around the world. Full-Text PDF