Cross-sectional echocardiography.

Cross-sectional echocardiography has become an essential part of the investigation of infants and children with heart disease. Frequently, it provides a precise diagnosis. In many instances, particularly in neonates and infants, surgery can be undertaken without the need to proceed to cardiac catheterisation. Although cross-sectional echocardiography provides little information about pulmonary or systemic vascular resistance and flow, considerable information about the latter can be established by Doppler. Echocardiography is essentially the representation of cardiac morphology in life. This technique can, therefore, readily be used in sequential segmental analysis of all patients.