Echocardiography is a frequently used tool in the evaluation of a wide range of cardiac diseases.
It's used by internists in the evaluation of dyspnea on exertion, by anesthesiologists concerned about that loud systolic murmur, and by pulmonologists worried about enlarged pulmonary arteries on chest x-ray -- in other words, it's a tool utilized across a wide range of specialties and practice areas.
For cardiologists, sonographers, internists, critical care physicians, and other interested clinicians, there are a number of apps available that can help us learn more about this imaging modality, interpret the studies, and communicate with our patients about the results.
Whether you're learning, teaching, or practicing, we've found five great apps that can help make you more efficient and more effective.
Developed by the American Society of Echocardiography, is a fantastic example of how professional societies can design useful mobile resources to disseminate information on standards, best practices, and more. The iASE app is a great resource for keeping standard values, common formulas, and guidelines close at hand while reading an echo. A notable feature in this app is the inclusion of normal values for a range of prosthetic valves, information that can otherwise be challenging to find.
provides a comprehensive overview of echocardiography primarily through a library of images and videos that walk through the normal exam as well as a range of pathologies. This app is a great choice for anyone learning echocardiography, including sonographers and cardiology trainees as well as clinicians who perform these tests occasionally such as critical care or emergency medicine clinicians. It is also a great choice for clinicians looking for a library of images and videos to use when discussing findings on an echocardiogram with their patients.
, developed by a practicing cardiologist, is essentially an introduction to echocardiography clearly written by someone with real-world experience and practical insights to share. The app offers a review of the basics of image acquisition, principles of ultrasound and Doppler, as well as a review of several types of cardiac pathology. This app is a good choice for anyone learning how to perform and interpret echocardiograms. 
, developed by a practicing cardiologist who spends a lot of time interpreting echocardiograms, is a well-designed app for performing echo calculations. While many types of echocardiography software will perform these calculations automatically, its not uncommon to have a need to either repeat some of them or perform a calculation not included in the software. This app is useful for clinicians who regularly interpret echocardiograms, generally on a more detailed basis than clinicians who may just need to look at images to get a gross sense of LV function.
is an app developed by a team from the University of Toronto that uses an interactive 3-dimensional heart model to help teach the practice of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). The app pairs a 3D heart model with a TEE probe and markers for the plane of the ultrasound beam based on the degrees of flexion and omniplane. That model is paired with high-quality TEE videos of the demonstrated view and practical tips on optimizing each view, making this a great app for trainees learning TEE.