Quantitative Doppler-Echocardiographic Determination of Regurgitant Volume in Patients with Aortic Insufficiency

BACKGROUND: The severity of aortic regurgitation (AR) can be determined by invasive or echocardiographic methods. We systematically compared quantitative invasive and echocardiographic data with semiquantitative invasive grades in a prospective series of patients. METHODS: Using Doppler-echocardiography we determined the cardiac output over the aortic, pulmonary and mitral valve in 27 patients (20 with, 7 without AR). Aortic regurgitant volume was calculated as the difference between the cardiac output over aortic and pulmonary valve/ mitral valve. During angiography the severity of AR was assessed semiquantitatively by aortography and the regurgitant volume was calculated invasively as the difference between the left- and right ventricular cardiac output. RESULTS: The echocardiographically and invasively determined regurgitant blood volume correlated closely (R≈0.8). The regurgitant volume increased with higher angiographic grade but there was significant overlap between adjoining qualitative grades. CONCLUSION: In patients with AR, quantitative echocardiographic and angiographic measurements of the regurgitant volume correlate closely.