Assesment of hemodynamics by basic ultrasound

Basic ultrasound can provide important information about the main parts of the circulatory system, the heart, and the main vessels. At the bedside, only by brief visual impression of the heart function and infe-rior vena cava diameter, and without any measurements, the attending physician can get important information which can influence the clinical opinion-making process and the management of the hemo-dynamically unstable patient. No less im-portant is to obtain information about the lungs, particularly to estimate if extravas-cular lung water is present in excess or not. Ultrasound can help in the detection of the potentially reversible causes of hemody-namic instability or arrest and can guide the treatment. Examples are pneumotho-rax, cardiac tamponade, thromboembo-lism, the detection of blood in the pleural, pericardial or abdominal space after trau-ma and the detection and treatment of the source of the infection.