Critical care specialties now regularly employ focused cardiac sonography at the bedside.

1. Focused Cardiac Ultrasound (FOCUS) includes limited sonographic assessments of the heart for the detection of: left ventricular failure, right ventricular strain, pericardial effusion, cardiac standstill, and volume assessment.

The video below illustrates a failing left ventricle (defined as Ejection Fraction <30%) in the parasternal long axis (PLAX) view.

Observe the enlargement and poor contractility of the left ventricle.

Compare that to this next clip of a normal left ventrilce with normal ejection fraction:

Here you can see a normal Left Ventricle size and good contractility.