Abstract
In our hospital, echocardiography had been only performed for participants undergoing yearly medical exams when they request it (“Request group”). However, in 2013, we started a new policy and procedure, in which a doctor recommended participants have an echocardiography if they are found to have one of the following: a significant heart murmur, a moderate-to-severe electrocardiogram abnormality, or an apparent chest x-ray abnormality (“Additional group”). Three hundred forty-one of 2,666 participants (12.8%) who had a thorough medical checkup underwent echocardiography.
After starting this new procedure, the ratio of participants who underwent echocardiography increased. The 19 participants in the Additional group were of a higher percentage (22.4%) for being in need of further detailed examinations and treatments than were the 22 participants (8.6%) in the Request group. There were participants who had high-risk illnesses such as a left atrial myxoma in the Additional group.
This new policy of actively recommending that participants have an echocardiogram based on their precise medical examinations might contribute to their benefit in the long run.
