Have you seen the BSE/BHF Normal Value posters? Click on 'read more' for further details ( you can also print yourself an A4 copy)

The British Society of Echocardiography and British Heart Foundation are delighted to present Guidelines for Chamber and Valve Quantification. BHF have kindly sent free posters to many UK departments. A4 copies can also be printed by following the read more link below. The guidelines have been developed by the Education Committee of the British Society of Echocardiography.

This process has involved a review of the existing evidence for normal and abnormal reference values. We found current international recommendations and guidelines particularly useful and used them as a starting point. Where there are differences between published values, or there is a lack of clear evidence, recommended values have been developed on the basis of consensus opinion and discussion. In addition, international recommendations and references have been adapted to be more applicable to practice in the UK.

It is vital that echocardiographic measurements are made using standardised, correct techniques. For instance, the values for ejection fraction are only valid for measurements made using the Biplane Simpsons’ method. Furthermore, it is of crucial importance to use reference values in the correct echocardiographic and clinical context. Quantitative measures should not be regarded as rigid cut-offs, but do help to construct a comprehensive echo report when interpreted in the correct clinical context.

I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the BSE Education Committee in developing these guidelines. Gill Wharton deserves special mention, for providing us with the initial review and analysis of the available literature, along with many of the illustrations. The financial and logistic support of the BHF has been vital to the completion of this project. In particular, we are grateful to Allyson Arnold, for her enthusiasm and leadership, and Andy Shields for his advice and expertise in the production of the posters.

If you require a printed copy of these posters please contact the BHF’s distribution line on 0870 600 6566 and quote G407 for the heart chamber poster and G408 for the heart valve poster. The BHF are committed to promoting education and resources in the fight against heart disease to everyone, therefore, BHF resources are free of charge. However a donation to the BHF towards costs is always welcomed.

Yours sincerely

Dr Navroz Masani, MBBS FRCP
Chairman, BSE Education Committee
Click here for the heart valve poster
Click here for the heart chamber poster