Takeuchi Masaaki
Second Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, 807-8555, Japan.
J Echocardiogr. 2014 Dec;12(4):129-37. doi: 10.1007/s12574-014-0226-0. Epub 2014 Sep 10.
Stress echocardiography is a versatile modality in the clinical cardiology. In its earlier days, its sole indication was restricted to diagnosing coronary artery disease. However, in response to the rapid development of ultrasound technology and analysis software, the indications have now evolved with expansion to several fields of cardiovascular disease.
I reviewed previous stress echocardiography publications, and discussed the current status of stress echocardiography in routine clinical setting.
Although its portability and online assessment make possible for immediate diagnosis even at the bedside, establishment of an appropriate procedure and an accurate assessment require some experience. Other imaging competitors, such as multidetector computed tomography and cardiac magnetic resonance are gradually replacing the role of stress echocardiography in some fields. However, stress echocardiography has a potential for other new fields, including valvular heart disease and congestive heart failure.
Although primary indication of stress echocardiography for coronary artery disease seems to be not relevant especially in Japan, novel indication of stress echocardiography in other field of cardiovascular disease is rapidly expanding in conjunction with the advent of new technology. Stress echocardiography is not a tool for limited researchers, but rather a fundamental routine method of choice for every sonographer.
负荷超声心动图是临床心脏病学中一种多功能的检查方法。在其早期，其唯一的适应证局限于诊断冠状动脉疾病。然而，随着超声技术和分析软件的快速发展，其适应证现已扩展到心血管疾病的多个领域。
我回顾了以前关于负荷超声心动图的出版物，并讨论了负荷超声心动图在常规临床环境中的现状。
尽管其便携性和在线评估功能使得即使在床边也能立即进行诊断，但建立适当的检查程序和准确的评估需要一定的经验。其他成像技术，如多排螺旋计算机断层扫描和心脏磁共振成像，正在逐渐取代负荷超声心动图在某些领域的作用。然而，负荷超声心动图在其他新领域，包括心脏瓣膜病和充血性心力衰竭方面具有潜力。
尽管负荷超声心动图对冠状动脉疾病的主要适应证似乎并不相关，特别是在日本，但随着新技术的出现，负荷超声心动图在心血管疾病其他领域的新适应证正在迅速扩大。负荷超声心动图不是仅限于研究人员使用的工具，而是每个超声检查人员基本的常规选择方法。
