Chapter 2 Abbreviations and Units

2.1 Abbreviations and Units

The following table 2.1 shows the abbreviations used in echocardiography along with the units of measurement that are most typically used in the Turku area, based on my experience. At the end of the list, there are also some echocardiographic findings that may be described in reports using abbreviations.

Below the table, there is a broader discussion on the topic.

The purpose is not to memorize anything from this table; you learn the abbreviations when learning each structure in the later chapters of this guide. However, the table can serve as an aid when preparing your first reports.

Table 2.1: Most common abbreviations appearing in echocardiographic reports.
Structure/Finding described	Abbreviation	Unit	Notes
Left ventricle	LV	mm	Unit not stated
Left ventricular ejection fraction	LVEF	%	E.g. “EF 50 %” is sufficient (cf. RVEF not in clinical use)
Interventricular septum	IVS	mm	Can record:“Walls 10/10” (first stated is septum)
Posterior wall	PW	mm	Cf. above.
Aorta (usually: aortic root)	Ao	mm	Unit not stated
Left atrium	LA	mm	Unit not stated
Mitral inflow E-wave	E	m/s	Unit not stated
Mitral inflow A-wave	A	m/s	Unit not stated
Mitral annular E’-wave	E’ (or e’), lat.	m/s	1) Unit not stated; 2) most commonly measured laterally
E to E’ ratio	E/E’ (or E/e’) lat.	-	Most commonly measured laterally
Gradient measured in valve stenosis	-	mmHg	In expression “10/5 mmHg” the latter number describes mean gradient
Aortic valve area	AVA	cm2
PISA radius (in regurgitation)	PISA	cm	Unit not stated
Regurgitant vena contracta	VC	cm	Unit not stated
Effective regurgitant orifice area	EROA	cm2
Tricuspid annular systolic excursion	TAPSE	mm	Unit not stated
Right ventricular basal dimension	RVD1	mm	Unit not stated
Right ventricular mid dimension	RVD2	mm	Unit not stated
Gradient measured from tricuspid regurgitation	RV/RA-gradient	mmHg	Also good:“Tricuspid gradient 25 mmHg”
Right atrium	RA	mm	Unit not stated
Inferior vena cava	IVC	mm	One way to express:“20/10” (latter refers to value during inspiration)
Systolic pulmonary artery pressure	sPAP	mmHg

Valve findings:

Mitral regurgitation	MR
Mitral stenosis	MS
Aortic stenosis	AS
Aortic regurgitation	AR		In some devices:“AI” (aortic insufficiency)

2.2 Abbreviations: Additional Information

Echocardiographic reports are full of letter abbreviations that are derived directly from the names of the structures being described. These abbreviations must be known in order to be able to dictate the echocardiographic studies you perform and interpret reports prepared by others. Additionally, projections have their own corresponding logical letter abbreviations that are worth learning. There are about twenty abbreviations in total, and they are all logical and easy.

Those practicing echocardiography also often ask what unit of measurement to use in each measurement. My experience is that the use of units is not entirely consistent - for example, certain velocities are described in m/s units and others in cm/s units.

Certain findings may also be described using abbreviations. This may not be the best solution for readability, but echocardiographic reports are probably generally difficult to read if you don’t perform echocardiography yourself. I wouldn’t rule out using the abbreviations for findings presented in table 2.1 if there’s a small summary at the end of the report in human-readable language - I strongly recommend such a summary in general.