Transesophageal Echocardiography in Atrial Fibrillation

Teerapat Yingchoncharoen; Saurabh Jha; Luke J Burchill; Allan L Klein

doi:10.1016/j.ccep.2013.11.006

Transesophageal Echocardiography in Atrial Fibrillation

Card Electrophysiol Clin. 2014 Mar;6(1):43-59. doi: 10.1016/j.ccep.2013.11.006.

Authors

Teerapat Yingchoncharoen¹, Saurabh Jha¹, Luke J Burchill¹, Allan L Klein²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Desk J1-5, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
² Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Desk J1-5, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. Electronic address: kleina@ccf.org.

PMID: 27063820
DOI: 10.1016/j.ccep.2013.11.006

Abstract

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) plays an important role in atrial fibrillation (AF), mainly to detect the presence of left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombus. It is useful in direct current cardioversion (DCC) guidance and for AF ablation and LAA occlusion. With the increasing number of patients affected by AF, the use of TEE will grow and become an important screening modality for LAA thrombus. Future direction includes broader multi-institutional use; further tools to risk stratify patients; and the use of a new spectrum of oral anticoagulants and their cost-effectiveness in patients with AF undergoing DCC, AF ablation, and LAA occlusion.

Keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Left atrial appendage; Stroke; Transesophageal echocardiography.

Publication types

Review