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The article offers information on the factors that contribute to the predominant role of echocardiography in clinical care. It notes that the emergence of laptop and palmtop type devices has enhanced the portability and universal availability of echocardiography. As stated, echocardiography machines are more cost effective against competitor techniques like gamma camera and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), among others. Additionally, it mentions that echocardiography machines do not cause radiation effects.

An abstract of the article "Valvular heart disease: Echocardiographic follow-up after heart valve replacement," by N. Piazza, A. Otten, C. Schultz, Y. Onuma, H. M. Garcia-Garcia, E. Boersma, P. de Jaegere and P. W. Serruys is presented.

The article investigates novel echocardiographic methods that can be used to select candidates for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). The development of CRT as a therapeutic option in symptomatic heart failure has been derived from the observation that heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, is often accompanied by asynchronous contraction of the left ventricle.