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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Continuous Venous-Arterial Doppler Ultrasound During a Preload Challenge
Published on: January 20, 2023
Noninvasive measurement of systemic vascular resistance using Doppler echocardiography
Amr E Abbas1, F David Fortuin, Bhavesh Patel
1William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI 48073, USA. aabbas@beaumont.edu
Background:
Systemic vascular resistance (SVR) is an integral therapeutic component of patients with heart failure and shock. We hypothesized that the ratio of the peak mitral regurgitant velocity (MRV) (m/s) to left ventricular outflow time-velocity integral (TVI(LVOT)) (cm) by Doppler would provide a noninvasive correlate of SVR.
Methods:
SVR was correlated to MRV/TVI(LVOT) in 33 patients undergoing right heart catheterization. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to determine the best-balanced sensitivity and specificity to identify SVR > 14 Wood units (WU) and <10 WU.
Results:
MRV/TVI(LVOT) correlated well with SVR (r = 0.842, 95% confidence interval 0.7-0.92, P <.001, Y = 0.459 + 49.397*X). By receiver operating characteristics, MRV/TVI(LVOT) > 0.27 had a 70% sensitivity and a 77% specificity to identify SVR > 14 WU. MRV/TVI(LVOT) < 0.2 had a 92% sensitivity and a 88% specificity to identify SVR < 10 WU.
Conclusion:
Doppler echocardiography provides a reliable noninvasive assessment of SVR.
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