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Despite another beautiful day, the 300 attendees at Echo Hawaii 2013 dragged themselves inside for a full morning of systolic and diastolic function.  Our course is a REAL international one: Australia (18), Canada (41), China (2), Denmark (2), France (1), Tahiti (1), Hong Kong (3), Japan (11), Korea (16), New Zealand (2), Norway (4), Poland (1), Saudi Arabia (1), Singapore (3), Slovakia (1), Thailand (1), and Turkey (1).  The morning was a very densely packed agenda, highlighting before the break basic and advanced methods for measuring right and left ventricular systolic function, including a very provocative lecture from David Prior on assessment of the athlete’s heart, which generated a LOT of questions from the audience.  Following the break, we turned our attention to diastolic function, with lectures on the clinical syndrome, physics and physiology, application of the guidelines, and the diastolic stress test.  After another good panel discussion, the audience deserved some time in the sun, but late in the day they were back for the diastology and hemodynamics workshop, always a highlight of Echo Hawaii.  A particularly fun segment was Becky Hahn’s “Who is Having a Better Day?”, where the audience was only given isolated spectral Doppler recordings from two patients and asked which one feels worse.  Very educational and highlighted the incredible power of Doppler echocardiography in skilled hands.

Now it was time for the welcome reception, under moonlit skies, with delicious food, outstanding maitais, and the incredible sounds of Alan Shapiro on drums and Joe Conti playing the Chapman Stick.  They took requests from the crowd and played for hours.  Wonderful!

	Smile! Here’s the left side of the audience, gathered for the start of the meeting.
	The center of the audience
	And the right side.
	Jun Kwan from Inchon, Korea, discussing 3D echo for systolic function.
	Mike Main discussing contrast echo for LV opacification.
	Steve Goldstein and David Adams did a tag team approach to RV function assessment.  Here is Steve.
	And here is David Adams.
	David Prior wrapped up the early session with “Athlete’s Heart or Cardiomyopathy: What are the Key Features?”
	Tohru Masayama from Nishinomiya, Japan, discussion the physics and physiology of diastolic function and flow.
	Bill Armstrong, giving a reality check to the diastology guidelines.
	The panel discussion at the end of the morning: Marti McCulloch, Steve Goldstein, Allan Klein, Tohru Masuyama, Jae Oh, and Bill Armstrong.
	And the reward for a morning of hard work!
	How about a stroll on the beach?
	The Thomas children (back, Daniel and Beth) and the Rodriguez children (front, Daniel and Gabriella) thought the hot tub sounded like a good plan!
	Back at it for the Doppler Hemodynamics and Diastology Workshop: Tohru Masuyama, Jae Oh, Allan Klein, Becky Hahn, Steve Goldstein.
	The sun is setting, time to party!
	All set for the welcome reception in the courtyard outside the ballroom.
	Alan Shapiro and Joe Conti entertaining the crowd.
	My son Daniel having a fine time with Isabel Prior (David Prior’s daughter) and his stepsister Katarina.
	Yngvil and I with Julia and David Prior
	Jonathan Lindner, George Gura, Terry Oh (Jae’s wife), and Jan Gura.
	Here I am greeting the crowd.
	My in-laws, Turi and Kjetill Ostgaard. Norwegians definitely like a nice party!
	Here we are with Daniel and Beth.
	And with Katarina and Linn.
	And with Marti McCulloch.
	Cheryl and Manny Forero.  Manny is our own Echo Hawaii Iron Man, who routinely bikes 50 to 100 miles in the afternoon between didactic sessions! They are from Erie, PA, and considering the forecast for one to three feet of snow this week, they’re happy to be here!
	Tony DeMaria with Debbie and John Agler.
	Manjou Bagatra with Sarah Ramer, who is on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Society of Echocardiography.
	Kids having fun: Daniel, Linn, Beth, Katarina, Isabel Prior, Daniel and Gabriella Rodriguez.
	Kjetill and Yngvil.
	Bill Armstrong, Kathy Wheeler, Terry Oh, Marilyn and Allan Klein.
	Cheryl and Manny Forero, Becky Hahn, Jim and Yngvil Thomas.
	Our excellent Korean speakers for the Pacific Rim Symposium: KSE President Jun Kwan, Sang-Choi Lee, Jim Thomas, Jong-Min Song.
	Hanging with the band: Beth Fulk, Joe Conti, Alan Shapiro, Jim Thomas.
	The end of a wonderful evening: Hilary Lamb and Yngvil.
	The Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel provides lots of wonderful details: here is a chocolate/candy canoe!