Clinical Utility of Abbreviated Echocardiography protocols

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  The clinical utility of an abbreviated echocardiography protocol for the echocardiographic assessment of outpatients with aortic stenosis and inpatients post-acute coronary syndrome

• IRAS ID

  328695

• Contact name

  Pooja Raithatha

• Contact email

  pooja.raithatha@nhs.net

• Sponsor organisation

  University Hospitals of Leicester

• Duration of Study in the UK

  3 years, 8 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), ultrasound scan of the heart, is the most commonly used non-invasive assessment of heart structure and function. It is accordingly an extremely commonly requested test. Echocardiography services across the UK are under intense strain due to both increasing demand and inadequate capacity, leading to long waiting lists and delays in delivering timely diagnosis, inevitably delaying treatment and potentially leading to harm due to delayed diagnosis. Data shows that over 4% of the population awaiting a TTE are waiting for greater than 6 weeks and these figures are over 10 times higher than the pre-COVID era.
  Echocardiography, in line with any test, is a tool that should answer a specific clinical question – therefore, we will determine whether abbreviated, also known as focused, echocardiography can answer clinical questions and direct patient management with similar accuracy compared to standard protocols. This could benefit patients, as shorter scans would allow for more patients to be seen in a timely manner. We propose that in the follow-up of patients with a narrow aortic valve (aortic stenosis) and in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) (heart attack), where typically specific parameters are of interest, abbreviated TTE protocols may offer an ideal combination of efficient and safe assessment. We have chosen these two medical conditions as they are commonly encountered and waiting lists have risen in recent times for them. If the study demonstrates that abbreviated TTE is still as effective as standard TTE in these patient groups, then further groups should be tested to see if the model of care can be expanded

• REC name

  North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 1

• REC reference

  26/NS/0007

• Date of REC Opinion

  19 Feb 2026

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion