Greetings from the President’s desk!
The single most important event that has changed the profile of cardiac anaesthesiologists in the last 2 decades is their grip on echocardiogram (ECHO). Gone are the days when we had to wait for a cardiologist to come to the operating room to do an ECHO for the surgeon. Today, the equally adept cardiac anaesthesiologist is capable of or even better than the cardiologist at delivering information to the cardiac surgeon, as he is more verse with the intraoperative conditions. The ECHO programs started in Narayana Hrudayalaya (Bangalore) and the subsequent formation of the ECHO library has gone a considerable way in upgrading the skill of the cardiac anaesthesiologist.
In am extremely happy with the excellent performance of the ECHO library team under the able leadership of Dr Hemamalini Palani who have been doing a fantastic job over the years. There is no doubt that she has built on the foundation laid by Dr Rajesh Arya and Dr Kumar C, previous leaders of the ECHO library.
Started in 2016, the weekly echo goes out once a month on every second Saturday and the mid-week quiz goes live on every Tuesday. Since its inception, more than 400 Quiz have been published over the years.
Students including cardiac anaesthesiologist, as well as cardiology students have benefited from these regular brain teasers. The aim is to ensure that all cardiac anaesthesiologists should be well versed in ECHO and be able to answer the queries of the cardiac surgeon. These weekly quiz programs make all cardiac anaesthesiologists familiar with the routine anomalies and abnormalities that are seen in the operating room. This is also a request for all cardiac anaesthesiologists to share their ECHO findings with the library, to impart knowledge and learning gained from experience.
I wish the entire team of people who are leading the ECHO library a very bright future and a knowledgeable year ahead!
Dr. Suresh G Nair
President
Indian Association of Cardiovascular Thoracic Anaesthesiologist
Dated 21.07.2025