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The purpose of this study was to assess the functional and prognostic correlates of B-lines during stress echocardiography (SE). BACKGROUND B-profile detected by lung ultrasound (LUS) is a sign of pulmonary congestion during SE. METHODS The authors prospectively performed transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and LUS in 2,145 patients referred for exercise (n ¼ 1,012), vasodilator (n ¼ 1,054), or dobutamine (n ¼ 79) SE in 11 certified centers. B-lines were evaluated in a 4-site simplified scan (each site scored from 0: A-lines to 10: white lung for coalescing B-lines). During stress the following were also analyzed: stress-induced new regional wall motion abnormalities in 2 contiguous segments; reduced left ventricular contractile reserve (peak/rest based on force, #2.0 for exercise and dobutamine, #1.1 for vasodilators); and abnormal coronary flow velocity reserve #2.0, assessed by pulsed-wave Doppler sampling in left anterior descending coronary artery and abnormal heart rate reserve (peak/rest heart rate) #1.80 for exercise and dobutamine (#1.22 for vasodilators). All patients completed follow-up. RESULTS According to B-lines at peak stress patients were divided into 4 different groups: group I, absence of stress B-lines (score: 0 to 1; n ¼ 1,389; 64.7%); group II, mild B-lines (score: 2 to 4; n ¼ 428; 20%); group III, moderate B-lines (score: 5 to 9; n ¼ 209; 9.7%) and group IV, severe B-lines (score: $10; n ¼ 119; 5.4%). During median follow-up of 15.2 months (interquartile range: 12 to 20 months) there were 38 deaths and 28 nonfatal myocardial infarctions in 64 patients. At multivariable analysis, severe stress B-lines (hazard ratio [

With stress echo (SE) 2020 study, a new standard of practice in stress imaging was developed and disseminated: the ABCDE protocol for functional testing within and beyond CAD. ABCDE protocol was the fruit of SE 2020, and is the seed of SE 2030, which is articulated in 12 projects: 1-SE in coronary artery disease (SECAD); 2-SE in diastolic heart failure (SEDIA); 3-SE in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (SEHCA); 4-SE post-chest radiotherapy and chemotherapy (SERA); 5-Artificial intelligence SE evaluation (AI-SEE); 6-Environmental stress echocardiography and air pollution (ESTER); 7-SE in repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (SETOF) ; 8-SE in post-COVID-19 (SECOV); 9: Recovery by stress echo of conventionally unfit donor good hearts (RESURGE); 10-SE for mitral ischemic regurgitation (SEMIR); 11-SE in valvular heart disease (SEVA); 12-SE for coronary vasospasm (SESPASM). The study aims to recruit in the next 5 years (2021–2025) ≥10,000 patients followed for ≥5 years (up to 2030) from ≥20 quality-controlled laboratories from ≥10 countries. In this COVID-19 era of sustainable health care delivery, SE2030 will provide the evidence to finally recommend SE as the optimal and versatile imaging modality for functional testing anywhere, any time, and in any patient.

Thus, the reduced CFR in the CS is a sensitive and specific predictor of LCA stenoses. A decrease of both CFRp <2 and CFRv <2.0 in the CS is a predictor of significant two-vessel lesion of the LCA, while a decrease of only CFRp <2.0 in the CS is a predictor of significant one-vessel lesion of the LCA.

Transoesophageal Doppler evaluation of coronary blood flow with application of a modified continuity equation is an accurate, non-invasive method of coronary arteries stenoses diagnostics.

TTE is a sensitive and highly specific non-invasive method for diagnosis of LAD and RCA occlusions, based on the detection of the coronary blood flow direction in the epicardial and intramyocardial collaterals.

Thus, simultaneous evaluation of CFR in the LAD and CS makes it possible to diagnose hemodynamically significant LAD stenoses and to differentiate between proximal and non-proximal impairments.