The FATE card – a pocket guide to the cardiac views

Get the FATE card as an iPhone or Android app or as a laminated card.

Use it as a pocket guide to the FATE protocol (Focus Assessed Transthoracic Echo).

by Dr. Erik Sloth

Focus Assessed Transthoracic Echocardiography (FATE) is a type of sonogram of the heart and is used in critical care for indications of emergent cardiac in order to perform a point-of-care cardiopulmonary evaluation. Abbreviated as the FATE protocol, it is an effective supplementary tool which provides quick guidance to interpret echocardiography information for cardiac and critical care ultrasound. In critically ill patients, the FATE protocol provides a systematic approach to the echocardiography examination and helps guide decision making in real-time or point-of-care.

The FATE protocol was developed by Dr Erik Sloth and his team in 1989 to identify the most favourable probe placement of cardiac positions, with the aim of assessing cardiac function. The FATE Card provides a visual reminder of the probe positions for scanning of subcostal and parasternal views in addition to pleural scanning. The basic FATE views include: the subcostal four-chamber view, the apical four-chamber view, the parasternal long axis view, the parasternal LV short axis view and pleural views. 
Furthermore, the FATE tool includes details of advanced transthoracic echocardiography skills such as M-mode measurements of cardiac dimensions and the qualitative assessment of interactions between right and left ventricle. 

You can download the FATE card as an app in Google Play or the App Store.

Laminated FATE cards (A6 size)

Hospitals and organizations in the US and Canada can get laminated FATE cards through the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA).

You just need to fill in the form here: https://www.asra.com/events-education/courses-webinars/pocus/fate-cards

Hospitals and organizations from the rest of the world can contact USabcd at [email protected] to request FATE cards. The cards are free, but you have to pay for shipping/postage. This can be paid here: https://usabcd.org/product/laminated-fate-cards-europe/

FATE e-course

The “FATE – Basic Cardiac Ultrasound” online e-course gives you the basic echocardiographic skills necessary to perform cardiopulmonary evaluation and optimising. You can find the course here in several languages.