Systolic time intervals by echocardiography

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Phonocardiograms and carotid pulses can present technical recording challenges.
• Accurate determination of systolic time intervals is clinically significant.
• Existing methods for measuring systolic time intervals are sometimes unreliable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of aortic valve echocardiography for determining systolic time intervals.
• To establish an alternative noninvasive method for systolic time interval measurement.
• To compare echocardiography-derived intervals with conventional methods.

Main Methods:

• Utilized high-speed strip chart recording of the aortic valve echocardiogram in 52 patients.
• Calculated ejection time (aortic valve opening to closing).
• Determined pre-ejection period (Q wave to aortic valve closing) and pre-ejection period/ejection time ratio.

Main Results:

• Satisfactory echocardiogram recordings were obtained in 36 patients.
• High correlation (r > 0.97) was observed between echocardiography and conventional methods.
• Differences in measured intervals were statistically insignificant, with ejection time differing by a maximum of 16 msec.

Conclusions:

• Aortic valve echocardiography is a viable noninvasive alternative for systolic time interval determination.
• This method is particularly useful when conventional techniques are hindered by technical difficulties.
• Echocardiography provides accurate and reliable systolic time interval data.