Ultrasound Imaging of the Superior Vena Cava: A State-of-the-Art Review

Bahaa M. Fadel, MD, Bahaa Kazzi, and Dania Mohty, MD, PhD, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Limoges, France

The aims of this review are to demonstrate the added value SVC imaging provides during transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiographic studies, to outline its usefulness for the detection and evaluation of structural abnormalities, and to detail the role of spectral Doppler imaging in aiding the diagnosis of various disorders that affect the right heart.

Accreditation Statement:

The American Society of Echocardiography is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American Society of Echocardiography designates this activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program, the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) MOC program, and/or the American Board of Anesthesiology’s (ABA) Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology Program® or MOCA 2.0®. It is ASE’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM and ABP MOC points and/or ABA MOCA 2.0®.   Physicians will earn MOC and/or MOCA 2.0 points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity.

ARDMS, CCI, and Sonography Canada recognize ASE’s certificates and have agreed to honor the CME credit hours toward their registry requirements for sonographers.

• Release Date: May 1, 2023
• Expiration Date: May 1, 2024 - CME/MOC must be claimed by this date.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this activity, the learner will be better able to:

• Recognizing normal 2D structural appearance and Doppler flow profiles in the SVC
• Describe the expected Doppler flow patterns associated with common disease states
• Understand the components of a comprehensive assessment of the SVC with ultrasound
• Describe the limitations and pitfalls of ultrasound imaging of the SVC

Disclosures: 

ASE is committed to ensuring that its educational mission, and all accredited continuing educational programs provide a protected space to learn, teach, and engage in scientific discourse free from influence from organizations that may have an incentive to insert commercial bias into education.

While a monetary or professional affiliation with an ineligible company does not necessarily influence a speaker’s presentation, the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education and policies of the ACCME require that all financial relationships with ineligible companies* be identified and mitigated prior to engaging in an accredited CE activity. In accordance with these policies, ASE actively identified relevant financial relationships between faculty in control of this accredited CE activity and ineligible companies and implemented mitigation strategies to eliminate any potential influence from persons or organizations that may have an incentive to insert commercial bias in this activity. (*Companies that are ineligible to be accredited in the ACCME System (“ineligible companies”) are those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, reselling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.)

At the time this article was published, the authors reported no actual or potential conflict of interest relative to the content.

Members of the ASE CME Committee members (not serving as faculty) do not have any financial relationships with ineligible companies.  Click here for a list of these members.

None of the ASE staff who were involved in the planning and implementation of this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies.  Click here for a list of ASE staff members.

No commercial support was provided for this activity.

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