This book aims to provide a practical and clinically useful introduction to echo for those who will be using, requesting and possibly interpreting it in the future. It is aimed particularly at doctors in training and medical students, but will also be of interest to a number of other groups, including established physicians and general practitioners, cardiac technicians, nurses and paramedics. It aims to explain the echo techniques available, what an echo can and cannot give, and - importantly - put echo into a clinical perspective. It is by no means intended as a complete textbook of echo and some aspects are far beyond its scope (eg, complex congenital heart disease and paediatric echo). The sections are ordered with the techniques most often used to diagnose a particular clinical problem explained first. For that reason, cardiac masses, prosthetic valves and infection are at the end of the book, after the section on transoesophageal echo (TOE). Doppler is dealt with at an early stage. The final chapter deals with special clinical situations.