Focused Cardiac Ultrasound in the Emergent Setting: A Consensus Statement of the American Society of
Echocardiography and American College of Emergency Physicians
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The use of ultrasound has developed over the last 50 years into an indispensable first-line test for the cardiac
evaluation of symptomatic patients. The technologicminiaturization and improvement in transducer technology,
as well as the implementation of educational curriculum changes in residency training programs and specialty
practice, have facilitated the integration of focused cardiac ultrasound into practice by specialties such as
emergency medicine. In the emergency department, focused cardiac ultrasound has become a fundamental
tool to expedite the diagnostic evaluation of the patient at the bedside and to initiate emergent treatment and
triage decisions by the emergency physician. (J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2010;23:1225-30.)
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