Pediatric Echocardiography

Abstract

When evaluating congenital heart disease, echocardiography is a powerful diagnostic tool. The availability, mobility, diagnostic accuracy, and noninvasive nature of echocardiography provide distinct advantages over other diagnostic modalities such as cardiac catheterization. Pediatric echocardiography has distinct differences from echocardiography performed on adults. First, the scanning techniques employed are tailored to the smaller size and younger age of the pediatric age group. Second, the types of diseases for which echocardiography is employed are necessarily different and usually consist of complex congenital lesions.