REVIEW PAPER The future of echocardiography

Echocardiography has become an integral part of modern cardiology, and parameters measured by echocardiography are enshrined in guidelines as components of clinical decision-making in the manage-ment of heart failure, valve disease and arrhythmias. This review will explore four modalities which will underpin the future of echocardiography- the hand-held machine, quantification, three-dimensional imaging, and contrast. Finally, we will explore the implications of the new financial milieu for the selec-tion of cardiac imaging modalities