Extract

Background: The reflux of the aortic regurgitation (AR) causes an increased and more persistent diastolic reverse flow in the aorta and its branching vessels. As Doppler examinations are often restricted to the aorta where a high quality Doppler signal acquisition is usually challenge, a prospective study was designed to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of Doppler measurements in the left subclavian artery (LSA) for the quantification of the AR in a cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) validation study.

Method: We evaluated the systolic and diastolic flow profiles of the LSA (subclavicular approach) by use of pulsed wave Doppler ultrasound (3.4 – 9MHz linear probe) in 32 patients (59±14years; 22 men) with a wide spectrum of AR of the native aortic valve. A comprehensive echocardiogram was performed in all patients. Using CMR phase-contrast sequences performed in the aorta (1cm above the aortic valve plane) the AR was quantified and divided in to 3 groups: mild (n = 15), moderate (n = 6), and severe (n = 11). We evaluated the pulsed Doppler derived regurgitant fraction (RF) as the ratio between diastolic and systolic velocity-time integrals (VTI) of the LSA.

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