ABSTRACT
I. STRESS ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY AND CONTRAST Stress echocardiography is a mature, powerful tool for the diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with coronary artery disease. Advances in imaging technology have ensured that previous misgivings concerning endocardial border delineation and reproducibility have been largely overcome. Although tissue harmonic imaging has helped to reduce interobserver variability and improve the sensitivity of stress echocardiography (1,2), left ventricular opacification (LVO) with ultrasonic contrast still confers a benefit over harmonic imaging during stress echocardiography. Furthermore, with the combined evolution of contrast agents and imaging technology simultaneous evaluation of LV structure, function, and perfusion is now feasible at the bedside.
