Cardiac output monitors are typically validated against a reference standard, which has traditionally been thermodilution using a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC). Given the risks associated with the use of pulmonary artery catheters9 an alternative method, such as transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), lends itself as valuable substitute technique for measuring CO. Transthoracic echocardiography is safe, painless and non-invasive. Similarly to EC, SV estimate by TTE is based on a measurement of mean blood velocity and ejection time (mean blood velocity x ejection time = velocity time integral, VTI; (Figure 3)). However, in contrast to EC, the parameters for blood velocity and left ventricular ejection time are not multiplied with a normative patient constant, but with a measured parameter: the left ventricular outflow tract area (LVOT area):