Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 22, 2026

Assessment of Right Ventricular Structure and Function in Mouse Model of Pulmonary Artery Constriction by Transthoracic Echocardiography
Published on: February 3, 2014
[Doppler echocardiography for measuring the right ventricular diastolic function]
1Affiliated Hospital, Shandong Medical University, Jinan.
Abstract:
To noninvasively measure the right ventricular diastolic function, continuous wave Doppler echocardiography was used in 31 patients with tricuspid regurgitation (TR). The right ventricular pressure (RVP) curves were analyzed mathematically, showing that RVP declined exponentially after maximum-dP/dt. The instantaneous RVPs during isovolumetric relaxation were measured from RVP curves and also calculated by using exponential equations. There were high correlations between measured and calculated RVPs (r = 0.83-0.98). The tricuspid regurgitant velocities were recorded by CWD and converted into pressure gradients (PG) using a simplified Bornoulli equation. The instantaneous RVPs were then obtained by adding an assumed right atrial pressure to PGs. The maximum-dP/dt, the instantaneous RVP at the time of -dP/dt max (PO) and the time constant of right ventricular relaxation (T) were calculated from both RVP curves and Doppler spectra. The results showed that there were high correlations of -dP/dt max, PO and T measured by two techniques (r = 0.95, 0.98 and 0.92). We conclude that T can be used to quantitate right ventricular myocardial relaxation, and CWD offers a new technique for noninvasively measuring T in patients with TR.
Related Concept Videos
Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System I:Echocardiography
Indications: Echocardiography is utilized to diagnose heart failure, valve disorders, and myocardial infarction. It also assesses cardiac structures' size, shape, and motion, evaluates...
Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System II:Types of Echocardiography
Types of Echocardiography
Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE)
TTE is the most common type of echocardiogram which involves placing a transducer on the patient's chest, emitting sound waves to create heart images. TTE is invaluable for evaluating the heart's size, structure, and motion, making it particularly useful for diagnosing...

