Doppler Ultrasound in Cardiology: Physical Principles and Clinical Applications

Abstract

Hatle and Angelsen's book Doppler Ultrasound in Cardiology describes the physical principles and some clinical applications of both pulsed and continuous signals. Of the eight chapters, five represent technical explanations of the technique, including concepts and equations that require knowledge of advanced physics and mathematics. The authors, recognizing this necessary scope of comprehension, outline an introductory reading path in the preface, which is unorthodox and complicated. Two chapters explain the advantages and limitations of Doppler ultrasound in the assessment and evaluation of normal heart function and selected intracardiac disorders. During the past three years, major advances have been made in cardiovascular diagnosis by means of combined M-mode or two-dimensional echocardiography and Doppler wave analysis. It is unfortunate that the authors did not include these methods, and, in fact, they dismiss such utility in the introduction. Major areas of application such as carotid or peripheral vascular disease are not discussed at