TEE Essentials: Assessment of the left atrium and appendage

The team at Medmastery are providing LITFL readers with a series of FOAMed courses from across their website. Transesophageal Echocardiography Essentials course with consultant cardiologist Andrew R. Houghton. By the end of the lesson, participants will have learned how to obtain the mid-esophageal LAA view to assess the left atrial appendage, quantify emptying velocities, and look for thrombus/spontaneous contrast.

Further Reading

• How to use the Transesophageal Echo probe
• Overview of Transesophageal Echo views
• Mid-esophageal four-chamber view (left ventricle)
• Anatomy of the mitral valve
• Mid-esophageal long-axis view (aortic valve)
• Mid-esophageal left atrial appendage view​
• Course: Transesophageal Echocardiography Essentials

Andrew R. Houghton

Andrew R. Houghton MD FRCP FESC. Cardiologist, cardiac imaging specialist, and head of cardiac imaging at Grantham and District Hospital in the UK.  My passion is for non-invasive cardiac imaging, especially echocardiography; cardiovascular magnetic resonance; and helping others to understand the remarkable capabilities of modern imaging techniques. | Medmastery |