Left Ventricular Systolic Function

The estimation of left ventricular systolic function, both qualitative and quantitative, remains essential to the perioperative management of the cardiovascular status of the surgical patient. As a result of its portability and versatility, echocardiography is now widely used for this purpose (Lang et al. in European Journal of Echocardiography 7(2):79–108, 2006 [1]). The spectrum of techniques for assessment of left ventricular systolic function is wide. This chapter provides an overview of some of the techniques that are essential for the basic echocardiographer and delineates the advantages, disadvantages, and pitfalls of each.