Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) abroad

Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is a procedure that percutaneously obtains small amounts of myocardial tissue for diagnostic, therapeutic, and research purposes. It is primarily used to 

(1) follow the transplanted heart for myocardial rejection

(2) diagnose specific inflammatory, infiltrative, or familial myocardial disorders

(3) sample unknown myocardial masses.

EMB is the definitive procedure for examining the myocardium, but is limited by its invasiveness, sampling error and lack of generalized expertise in its performance. EMB is especially useful in the diagnosis of myocardial rejection, myocarditis, amyloidosis, sarcoidosis, and hemochromatosis.