Focused Echocardiography in the Emergency Department

Course Overview

• FEED (Focused Echocardiography in the Emergency Department) is a practical, clinically focused course designed to equip clinicians with the core echocardiographic skills required to rapidly assess undifferentiated chest pain and the critically unwell patient in the emergency setting. The course emphasises pattern recognition, physiological understanding, and immediate clinical decision-making rather than comprehensive echocardiography. Participants will learn how to use focused cardiac ultrasound to identify time-critical pathology involving the right heart, left heart, and aorta, and to integrate echocardiography into the assessment of the crashing patient and during life support.

Who Should Attend?

• Senior Emergency medicine clinicians, Acute Physicians, Intensivists, and senior trainees who wish to develop or refine focused echocardiography skills for real-time emergency decision-making.
• Learn from Echocardiography  experts- NHS Consultants and Specialist Echocardiographers

Course Curriculum

1. Foundations of FEED

• Indications and limitations of focused echo in the ED
• Image acquisition and optimisation
• Core FEED views and systematic approach

2. Right Heart Causes of Chest Pain and Shortness of Breath

• Acute right ventricular strain and failure
• Pulmonary embolism: echocardiographic features
• Pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale
• Tamponade physiology and pericardial pathology

3. Left Heart Causes of Chest Pain and Shortness of Breath

• Global and regional left ventricular systolic dysfunction
• Acute coronary syndromes: wall motion abnormalities
• Acute valvular pathology (e.g. acute MR, AS)
• Cardiomyopathies relevant to emergency practice

4.  Aortic causes of Chest pain 

• Aortic Pathology
• Acute aortic syndromes
• Identification of aortic root dilation
• Indirect echocardiographic signs of dissection
• Role and limitations of echo in suspected aortic disease

4.  Lung pathology causing Chest Pain and Shortness of breath

• Pneumonia
• Pleural effusion
• Pulmonary congestion
• Pneumothorax

5. The Crashing Patient

• Rapid Echo in shock and cardiac arrest
• Differentiating causes of undifferentiated hypotension
• Echo-guided management in peri-arrest scenarios
• Echo Hemodynamics

6. Bringing it all together

• Providing a structures assessment tool for rapid assessment and diagnosis in emergency setting

7. Echo in Life Support

• Integration of echo into ALS and peri-resuscitation care
• Cardiac arrest Echo protocols
• Reversible causes of arrest identifiable on Echo
• Maintaining minimal interruptions to CPR, simulated scenarios

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Perform a focused echocardiographic assessment in the ED
• Identify key echocardiographic features of life-threatening causes of chest pain
• Use echo to support diagnosis and management of the crashing patient
• Integrate echocardiography safely and effectively into life support and resuscitation

Course Format

A blend of short, high-yield lectures, image-based learning, case discussion, and plenty of hands-on practical scanning, and simulated scenarios with a strong emphasis on clinical application in the emergency department.