Critical Care Transthoracic Echocardiography

A 70-year-old man with end-stage heart failure and a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device received repeated electrical discharges from his biventricular implantable cardiac defibrillator. Although the electrocardiogram demonstrated ventricular fibrillation, the patient was awake and in no distress. A focused transthoracic echocardiogram was performed to assess ventricular function revealing simultaneous atrial sinus rhythm and ventricular fibrillation. This clinical scenario highlights a unique clinical finding, the complexity of the care of continuous-flow left ventricular assist device patients, and the challenges of intensivist-performed bedside focused transthoracic echocardiogram.