Rapid and Accurate Assessment of Aortic Arch Atherosclerosis Using Simultaneous Multi-Plane Imaging by Transesophageal Echocardiography

Abstract

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is widely used for the evaluation of aortic arch atherosclerosis which carries an increased risk of ischemic stroke. We investigated the feasibility of simultaneous multi-plane imaging by real-time 3-D TEE for the assessment of aortic arch plaques. In 152 patients, we assessed aortic arch plaques and measured their maximum thickness by both conventional TEE imaging and multi-plane TEE imaging. There was excellent correlation and good agreement between the two methods in the measurement of the maximum thickness of arch plaques (r = 0.95, mean difference, −0.1 ± 0.5 mm). The mean image acquisition time required for aortic arch assessment by multi-plane imaging was significantly shorter than that required for conventional imaging in all patients (p < 0.001), especially those with complex plaques. These findings suggest that simultaneous multi-plane TEE imaging enables rapid and accurate evaluation of arch plaques and is therefore a useful tool for the assessment of aortic arch plaques in the clinical setting.