Owing to its ease of application, noninvasive nature, and safety, echocardiography is an essential imaging modality to assess cardiac function in patients affected by ischemic heart disease (IHD). Over the past few decades, we have witnessed a continuous series of evolutions in the ultrasound field that have led to the introduction of innovative echocardiographic modalities which allowed to better understand the morphofunctional abnormalities occurring in cardiovascular diseases. This article offers an overview of some of the newest echocardiographic modalities and their promising application in IHD diagnosis, risk stratification, management, and monitoring after cardiac rehabilitation.
Keywords: arterial stiffness; cardiac rehabilitation; color Doppler flow mapping (CDFM); coronary flow reserve (CFR); global longitudinal strain (GLS); ischemic heart disease (IHD); left atrial strain; speckle tracking echocardiography (STE); tissue Doppler imaging (TDI); ventricular vortex.