Current awareness and use of transthoracic echocardiography in evaluation of valvular heart disease in Kumamoto Prefecture -a report from the Kumamoto cardiovascular echocardiography standardization project

Background There are few reports on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) for the evaluation of valvular heart disease in a specific area or region. Methods and results This cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted in 2023 in Kumamoto Prefecture, where 106 hospitals provide cardiology services. Ninety-three (88%) of the hospitals completed questionnaires regarding TTE. The severity of low flow/low gradient AS was evaluated by dobutamine stress echocardiography in only 7% of hospitals and exercise stress echocardiography for asymptomatic mitral regurgitation in only 5%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that participation in remote multi-institutional echocardiographic meetings and use of the Kumamoto Prefecture echocardiographic manual were significantly associated with the use of a multi-window approach ( P