2018 Hands-On Ultrasound Courses

Target Audience

We've targeted this Workshop to echocardiographers who will benefit from a deeper understanding of the patient's cardiac biopathology than is conveyed in a formal program, and also to PA or NP-level practitioners who will profit from more understanding of the ultrasound results.  Our goal is to elevate the performance of the Allied Health Team to better leverage the limited time of the Physician.  Your ideal benefit will be achieved if both parties attend together.

Topics include: 

• How cardiac muscle uniquely contracts and its peculiar response to changes in stretch and resistance.  

• Oxygen/nutrient uptake and expenditure in each stage of cardiac activity.

• The unique physiology and pathophysiology of coronary blood flow at rest and exercise.

• Normal and variant coronary anatomy and regional wall distribution applied to all echocardiographic views.

• The effect of coronary ectasia and aneurysmal disease on myocardial perfusion during rest and exercise.

• The basis and disparity of capillary perfusion between endocardial and epicardial distribution.

• The compound effects of diastolic dysfunction and systolic failure between rest and exercise.

• The importance of objective evaluation of provocable valvular dysfunction in exercise.

• Physiologic, diagnostic, and risk differences between post-, peak- and pharmacologic-stress echocardiography.

• The four thresholds of detectable myocardial ischemia: how to identify and act on each during the stress echo encounter.

• Rapid interpretation of the 12-lead echocardiogram and rhythm strip: confident differentiation of benign vs. high-risk changes.

• The rapid and systematic method to identify and localize myocardial wall action abnormalities.

• Why every heart cath patient needs stress echo and why the two aren't supposed to agree.

• Case analysis.

Objectives

This course is conducted independent of any commercial or institutional grant, industry support or sponsorship.  No faculty members have any commercial interests or participation that might influence its content.  Upon completion of this activity, you should be able to:

• Discuss the biology and physiologic response of cardiac muscle throughout a single cycle and discuss the changes that develop between rest and exercise.

• Chart the coronary artery system and match it to each segment of the cardiac walls as defined by stress echo protocol.

• Discuss the significance of the difference between endocardial vs epicardial microcirculatory flow and its significance during exercise.

• Chart every segment of the ventricular myocardium and specify its expected coronary supply.

• Identify the earliest signs of myocardial ischemia and correlate each element to EKG findings and patient signs.

• State and observe for the potential complications of exercise and pharmacologic echo.

• Recognize and localize ventricular function abnormalities that may develop during the exam and stratify their clinical significance for patient safety.

• Discuss the complementary relationship between stress echo and invasive cardiac diagnostics.

Cost

This experience is held as a prvate tutorial for your Group at any site you specify, worldwide.  Its topics can be odified or combined with any part of any of our Hands-On, Interpretive, or Workshop courses.   The total cost is all inclusive and is based on your designated location, the number of participants, and the length of the training.  For groups of three or more, the cost is likely the same or less than attending individually, and when the cost of lost productivity is factored, it becomes much less.  

Tyoically, an individual department or group practice requests that the training be held at their site.  Others have actually specified a destination site where their participants could travel to, combining in depth recreation and learning.  Either type of learning expereince is tax deductible. 

CME

We designate this course a non-CME credit activity, meaning that the curriculum is not defined by the constraints of a fixed format.  This is to your strategic advantage.  Though the content meets and exceeds every academic guideline, we have over many years determined that flexibility in tailoring specific elements—and the delivery to each individual learner’s need and style—supersedes the restraints of a traditionally rigid, time-limited format.  It also permits us to openly, honestly and independently without bias discuss virtually every manufacturer's system features.  Too, the broad ranges of clinical professional specialist organizations have developed multiple exclusive brands of applicable CME.  We have chosen instead to focus on your lifelong bedside competence and strategic advantage. This decision has permitted us to make our classes microscopically small at the least tuition cost possible.  We will be delighted to direct you to the most appropriate free and low-cost traditional CME credit activities available online.

Downloads

We've prepared a free library of high-resolution Anatomy Posters and Worksheets for you here.   Be certain to also download a free copy of our Employer/Employee Agreement, where you can gain your Employer's sponsorship of your travel and education costs in exchange for your commitment over time.

You've Got Questions?

I'm Amy Donaldson and we want to answer your every question.  You can email or call us at (972) 353-3200 (USA, GMT -06:00).  You can also click About Us or visit our FAQ page.